HANDBOOK 

ITS  RESOURCES, 
PRODUCTS.  AND  ATTRACTIONS 


BY 


MAJOR-GENERAL  A.  W.  GREELY,  U.  S.  A. 


WITH    MAPS   AND    ILLUSTRATIONS 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S    SONS 
1909 


StlVEftAL 


COPTRIOHT,   1909,   BT 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 
Published  May,  1909 


PREFACE 

FORTY  years  have  passed  since  the  foresight  and 
negotiations  of  a  great  statesman,  William  H.  Seward, 
added  to  our  national  domain  the  immense  and  valua 
ble  Territory  of  Alaska.  It  has  contributed  to  our 
public  wealth  products  worth  more  than  three  hundred 
millions  of  dollars,  yet  to  this  day  it  is  a  terra  incognita 
to  the  American  public.  Not  only  is  the  ordinary  man 
of  affairs  ignorant  of  the  general  features  of  Alaska, 
but  this  is  also  true  of  the  usually  well-informed.  In 
deed,  in  a  widely  circulated  and  standard  work  of 
geographic  reference  the  errors  relative  to  the  Territory 
are  simply  astounding  in  number  as  well  as  in  character. 

The  great  economic  value  of  the  more  northern  parts 
of  North  America  is  being  gradually  recognized,  as 
indicated  by  the  rapidly  increasing  wealth  of  north 
western  Canada,  and  by  the  construction  of  the  trans 
continental  Grand  Trunk  Railway  with  its  terminus  at 
the  southeastern  boundary  of  Alaska. 

For  the  first  time  an  organized  effort  has  been  made 
to  draw  public  attention  to  the  products  and  resources 
of  Alaska,  through  their  adequate  and  material  pres 
entation  in  the  Alaska- Yukon  Exposition  at  Seattle. 

The  need  has  long  been  obvious  of  a  Handbook  that 
should  assemble  widely  scattered  and  reliable  Alaskan 
data  of  current  interest.  In  attempting  this  task,  the 
aim  of  the  author  looks  to  a  clear,  brief  summary  of 


vi  PREFACE 

such  definite  and  accurate  information  as  may  be  of 
interest  to  the  student  or  of  value  to  the  man  of  action. 
There  are  herein  presented  such  phases  of  Alaskan 
affairs  as  may  concern  those  interested  in  the  develop 
ment  of  the  country,  for  those  who  plan  Alaskan  jour 
neys  for  business,  pleasure,  or  research,  as  well  as  for 
those  who  have  in  view  commercial  ventures  or  con 
template  permanent  residence. 

That  Alaska  now  presents  economic  conditions  of 
current  and  growing  importance  is  evidenced  by  her 
average  imports  from  the  United  States,  which  approx 
imate  $17,000,000  annually,  nearly  double  in  value 
those  of  the  Philippines.  Moreover,  Alaskan  products 
since  1905  have  yearly  exceeded  $30,000,000,  and  indica 
tions  point  to  a  large  increase  in  the  immediate  future. 

While  touching  briefly  such  topics,  yet  this  volume 
does  not  attempt  to  narrate  the  history  of  Alaska,  to 
depict  fully  the  virile  and  stirring  life  of  its  placer 
miners,  or  to  describe  in  detail  its  varied  and  remarka 
ble  scenery,  which  equals  or  surpasses  the  combined 
charms  of  the  Norwegian  fiords  and  the  Swiss  Alps. 

The  topical  method  has  been  followed  as  best  suited 
adequately  to  treat  so  extensive  a  region  of  greatly 
varied  conditions.  The  chapters  on  glaciers,  volcanoes, 
game,  and  various  mining  districts  are  based  on  re 
ports  of  the  ablest  and  best-informed  Alaskan  in 
vestigators.  Acknowledgments  are  hereby  made  to  the 
authors  of  publications,  whose  titles  follow  each  chapter 
for  the  benefit  of  readers  who  desire  fuller  information 
on  special  subjects  under  consideration. 

While  relying  largely  on  the  reports  of  experts,  the 


PREFACE  vii 

author  draws  on  his  own  extended  experiences  and 
knowledge  in  cases  of  conflicting  or  insufficient  data. 
Twice  he  has  exercised  supreme  military  command  over 
Alaska,  and  under  his  control  and  supervision  was 
built  the  Alaskan  military  telegraph  system — over  4,000 
miles  of  land  lines,  submarine  cables,  and  wireless.  In 
six  visits  to  Alaska  he  has  thrice  traversed  the  whole 
Yukon  Valley,  visited  Fairbanks  and  Prince  William 
Sound  twice,  and  Nome  three  times. 

Familiar  with  Alaska  for  the  past  nine  years,  he  has 
seen  its  evolution  from  a  few  mining  centres  without 
civil  law  to  its  present  status  of  an  organized  Territory, 
with  railways,  cables,  schools,  and  all  the  concomitants 
of  a  great  and  prosperous  country, 

A.  W.  GREELY. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  May,  1909. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    GENERAL  DESCRIPTION 1 

II.    GOVERNMENT  AND  LAWS 11 

III.    CLIMATE 15 

—  IV.  WATERWAYS,  ROADS,  AND  RAILROADS    ...  20 

V.    THE  ARMY  IN  ALASKA 34 

VI.  AGRICULTURE,  FORESTRY,  AND  RESERVATIONS  .  45 

*r  VII.  MINING  IN  GENERAL — GOLD,  COPPER,  AND  COAL  54 

VIII.  KETCHIKAN    AND    WRANGELL    MINING    DIS 
TRICTS      60 

IX.    THE  JUNEAU  SECTION 66 

X.  NOME  AND  THE  SEWARD  PENINSULA      ...  78 

XL    THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  YUKON 93 

XII.  FAIRBANKS  AND  THE  TANANA  VALLEY  ...  99 

XIII.  COPPER  RIVER  REGION  AND  COOK  INLET       .  108 

XIV.  FUR-SEAL  FISHERIES 118 

XV.  ALASKAN  FISHERIES— THE  SALMON   ....  125 

XVI.  ALASKAN  FISHERIES — THE  COD,  ETC.     .     .     .  134 

XVII.    TOURIST  TRIPS 142 

XVIII.     GLACIER  REGIONS 152 

ix 


x  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIX.    MOUNTAINS  AND  VOLCANOES 160 

XX.     INHABITANTS — V&IITES  AND  NATIVES     .     .     .  174 

XXL    EDUCATION  AND  MISSIONS 188 

XXII.    SOUTHWESTERN  ALASKA  AND  KODIAK     .     .     .  203 

XXIII.  ALASKAN  GAME 211 

XXIV.  SCIENTIFIC  FIELDS  OF  RESEARCH 223 

XXV.    THE  ALEUTIAN  ISLANDS  AND  Fox  FARMING  .  231 

XXVI.    THE  CANADIAN  KLONDIKE 237 

XXVII.    TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION 242 

TABLES  : 

No.  1 — DATES  OF  HISTORICAL  INTEREST    .  259 

No.  2 — MEAN  TEMPERATURES,  RAIN,  AND 

SNOW 261 

No.  3 — GOLD  PRODUCTION,  BY  DISTRICTS  .  263 

No.  4 — FUR-SEAL  SKINS  OBTAINED  FROM 
ALL  WATERS  OF  ALASKA,  1868 

TO  1908 264 

No.  5 — GLACIERS       265 

No.  6 — MOUNTAINS  AND  VOLCANOES    .     .  268 

No.  7 — SALMON  AND  COD  FISHERIES,  1868 

TO  1908 269 

No.  8 — PRODUCTS  OF  ALASKA  FROM  1868 

TO  1908 270 

INDEX 273 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

REPRODUCTIONS  OF  PHOTOGRAPHS  MADE  BY  THE  COAST  AND 
GEODETIC  SURVEY,  THE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY,  THE  BUREAU  OF 
FISHERIES,  THE  BIOLOGICAL  SURVEY,  THE  NORTHERN  COMMER 
CIAL  COMPANY,  THE  COPPER  RIVER  RAILWAY,  AND  THE  ARMY 
SIGNAL  CORPS 

The  Giant  Moose Frontispiece 

(The  largest  mammal  in  North  America.) 

FACING  PAGE 

Steamer  Sarah,  of  the  Northern  Commercial  Co.     ...       22 
(At  Eagle,   Upper  Yukon;   Eagle  Mountain  in  the 
background.) 

Winter  Travel  on  the  Army  Road,  North  of  Valdez    .     .*     28 

Tanana  Mines  Railway,  near  Fairbanks 32 

(Connecting  the  principal  placer  mines.) 

Home  Gardening  at  Fairbanks,  Tanana  Valley  ....      46 

Timber  in  the  Chugach  National  Forest,  near  Cordova     .       48 
(Along  Copper  River  Railroad.) 

Placer  Mining  on  Ester  Creek,  near  Fairbanks     ....       56 
(Washing  up  the  dump,  or  frozen  gravel,  mined  in 
winter.) 

Agriculture  in  the  Central  Yukon  Valley 94 

(Experiment  Station  at  Fairbanks.) 

Fairbanks  Town,  Tanana  Valley,  on  July  4,  1908  ...     104 

Cordova,  Prince  William  Sound,  and  Copper  River  Rail 
road,  October,  1908 114 

(Chugach  Mountains  in  the  background.) 

Fur-Seal  Rookery  on  St.  George  Island,  Pribilof     ...     120 


xii  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING  PAGE 

Salmon  Cannery  on  Karluk  River,  Kodiak 128 

(The  greatest  salmon  stream  in  the  world.) 

St.  Elias  Alps  and  Disenchantment  Bay 148 

Columbia  Glacier,  Prince  William  Sound;  Front   about 

300  Feet 156 

(South  end,  showing  contact  of  glacier  with  forest.) 

Ne"ve"  of  Fairweather  Range,  and  Alsek  Glacier  .     .     .     .     162 

McKinley,  the  Monarch  of  American  Mountains     ...     164 
(View  about  fifty  miles  distant.) 

Crater  of  Augustine  Peak 166 

Augustine  (dead)  Volcano,  Cook  Inlet 166 

Grewingk  Island  (born  in  1883),  Bogoslof  Group,  Bering 

Sea 170 

(A  third  volcanic  island  was  thrown  up  in  1906.) 

St.    James    Mission,  and    Native   Children,    at   Tanana, 

Central  Yukon 196 

Holy  Cross  Mission,  Lower  Yukon  Valley 200 

(Remarkable  for  its  successful  agricultural  work.) 

Seward,  Kenai  Peninsula 204 

(Terminus  of  the  Alaska  Central  Railroad.) 

Caribou  Hunter  Returning  with  Game 214 

Growing  Forest  on  Malaspina  Glacier,  near  Mt.  St.  Elias     228 

White  Horse  Rapids  on  the  Lewes  (Upper  Yukon)  River    238 
(The  rapids  so  much  dreaded  by  the  Klondike  pio 
neers.) 


MAPS 

EXCEPT    THE    RELIEF    MAP,    THESE    ARE    FROM    BULLETINS    OF 
THE    UNITED   STATES   GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY 

General  Map  of  Alaska At  end  of  volume 

PAGE 

Signal  Corps,  United  States  Army,  map,  showing  Alaska 

in  relief 42 

Maps : 

No.  1.     Distribution    of    Timber    in    the    Tanana- 

Yukon  Region 50 

No.  2.  Mining  Precincts  of  Seward  Peninsula     .     .  82 

No.  3.  Fairbanks  Mining  District 102 

No.  4.  Lower  Copper  and  Chitina  Valleys      .     .     .  110 

No.  5.  Distribution  of  Caribou  and  Mountain  Goats  208 

No.  6.  Distribution  of  Moose  and  Deer     .  216 


xiii 


(    UNIVERSITY  1 


The  Giant  Moose. 

(The  largest  mammal  in  North  America.) 


HANDBOOK  OF  ALASKA 

CHAPTER  I 
GENERAL  DESCRIPTION 

IT  is  unnecessary  to  narrate  here  the  history  of  Alaska, 
especially  as  existent  conditions  in  the  Territory  are 
entirely  disassociated  with  the  past  as  to  material 
interests,  and  as  to  its  administrative,  judicial,  or 
religious  methods.  However,  Table  No.  1 l  gives  such 
matters  of  historical  interest,  and  dates  of  occurrence, 
as  are  of  special  importance. 

It  is  difficult  to  give  an  idea  of  the  geography  of 
Alaska  that  shall  be  brief  and  adequate,  or  satisfactory, 
owing  to  its  vast  area  and  its  divergent  conditions. 

All  are  familiar  with  the  accurate  but  misleading 
statement  that  Attu  Island,  Alaska,  is  farther  west  of 
San  Francisco  than  that  city  is  west  of  Eastport, 
Maine.  The  Alaska  known  to  the  tourist  is  a  strip  of 
coast  and  fringe  of  islands  of  about  425  miles  by  100 
miles,  extending  from  Ketchikan  north  to  Mount  St. 
Elias, — in  fact,  about  one-twelfth  of  Alaska.  The 
main  Territory  just  begins  at  St.  Elias,  stretching 
northward  about  700  miles  to  the  Arctic  Ocean  and 
the  same  distance  to  the  westward  to  Bering  Sea,  its 

1  See  end  of  volume. 

1 


2  HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

total  area  being  ;g>veri  by  Gannett  as  590,884  square 
miles.  Perhaps  some  idea  of  its  great  extent  may  be 
had  from  the  statement  that  its  area  is  one-third 
greater  than  that  of  the  Atlantic  States  from  Maine  to 
Florida.  While  the  northernmost  land,  Point  Barrow, 
is  more  than  300  miles  within  the  Arctic  Circle  with  the 
sun  absent  forty  days,  its  extreme  southern  point,  at 
the  entrance  to  Portland  Canal,  is  in  practically  the 
same  latitude  as  Hamburg,  Germany. 

Generally  speaking,  the  southern  two-fifths  of  Alaska 
consist  of  rugged,  precipitous  mountains,  sometimes 
glacier-covered  but  more  often  densely  wooded.  The 
northern  fifth  is  the  largely  treeless  and  barren  shores 
of  the  Arctic  coast.  Intervening  between  these  regions 
the  remaining  two-fifths  are  the  watersheds  of  the 
great  Yukon  and  the  lesser  Kuskokwim  rivers.  Other 
distinctively -separate  areas  are  the  Seward  (Nome) 
peninsula  and  the  chain  of  Aleutian  Islands.  The 
general  features  of  Alaska  appear  in  the  relief  map 
herewith  reproduced. 

For  the  purpose  of  description  the  following  are 
adopted  as  districts,  in  view  of  their  distinct  and 
separate  entity  from  the  standpoints  of  resources, 
business,  and  transportation: 

1.  Sitkan  Alaska,  covering  the  mainland  and  outlying 
islands  from  Ketchikan  northward  to  Skagway.     This 
is  Alaska  as  known  to  the  tourists,  though  only  about 
one-twelfth  of  the  Territory. 

2.  Southwestern   Alaska — the   watersheds   draining 
into  the  Pacific,  from  St.  Elias  westward  to  the  Alaskan 
peninsula  and  the  outlying  islands. 


GENERAL    DESCRIPTION          3 

3.  The  Aleutian  and  Pribilof  islands. 

4.  The  Yukon  and  Kuskokwim  watersheds. 

5.  The  Seward  Peninsula  (Nome  region). 

6.  The  Arctic  watersheds. 

Sitkan  Alaska  includes  the  mainland  and  outlying 
islands  from  Ketchikan  northward  to  Skagway.  The 
mainland  is  a  narrow  strip,  scarcely  averaging  twenty 
miles  in  width  of  available  ground,  overshadowed  by 
the  high,  snow-capped  mountains  that  separate  Alaska 
from  British  Columbia.  The  whole  of  the  Sitkan 
region  is  of  the  fiord  type,  the  shores  rising  abruptly 
hundreds,  often  thousands  of  feet  above  the  sea  or 
straits,  with  bordering  or  entering  fiords  of  such  great 
and  sudden  depths  as  permit  large-draft  ships  to  safely 
skirt  the  very  shore.  The  land  surfaces  are  most 
irregular,  and  it  is  with  difficulty  that  a  square  mile 
of  fairly  level  land  can  be  found.  The  whole  country 
is  more  or  less  densely  wooded  to  the  height  of  several 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea. 

Southwestern  Alaska  is  also  a  fiord  region,  marked 
by  three  great  inlets,  Yakutat  Bay,  Prince  William 
Sound,  and  Cook  Inlet.  While  Yakutat  Bay  lies 
under  the  very  shadow  of  the  St.  Elias  Alps  and  its 
enormously  debouching  glaciers,  it  is  favored  with 
heavy  forest  growth  wherever  there  is  ice-free  land. 
The  continuity  of  the  fiord  coast  is  broken  at  the  Copper 
River  delta,  where  there  is  a  great  projecting  shelf,  with 
moderate  depth  seaward  and  shallows  at  the  river 
mouth.  To  the  west  Prince  William  Sound  and  Cook 
Inlet,  with  the  Kenai  Peninsula  between  the  two 
sounds,  are  magnificent  in  their  fiord  aspects  and 


4          HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

glacier  formations,  which  excel  in  beauty  the  more 
extensive  glacial  fields  of  St.  Elias.  In  the  inlet 
country,  along  and  adjoining  the  glaciers,  woodland 
regions  are  also  extensive.  The  extreme  west  of  the 
mainland,  Alaska  Peninsula,  between  Cook  Inlet  to 
the  east  and  Bristol  Bay,  Bering  Sea,  to  the  north,  is  a 
mountain  ridge  of  several  hundred  miles  with  sharply 
descending  spurs  and  sides  to  the  very  sea.  Its 
northeastern  borders  are  divided  between  coast  forests 
and  lake  districts,  but  seven-eighths  are  upturned 
stratified  beds,  with  many  volcanic  peaks  whose 
destructive  activities  are  not  wholly  of  the  past,  as 
instanced  by  Illiamna  and  Redoubt,  by  adjacent 
Bogoslof  and  Grewingk.  To  the  south  of  the  peninsula 
is  the  forest-covered  isle  of  Afognak,  and  beautiful 
Kodiak,  3,642  square  miles — largest  of  Alaskan  islands, 
though  some  claim  that  it  is  second  in  size  to  Prince  of 
Wales  Island — where  the  forests  of  its  northern  coast 
thin  rapidly  to  the  southward. 

The  Aleutians  stretch  as  a  long  bow-shaped  chain  of 
seventy  treeless  islands,  excluding  islets,  for  a  thousand 
miles  from  Alaska  Peninsula  to  the  coast  of  Kam 
chatka;  they  extend  so  far  that  two  groups — Nearer 
and  Rat — are  in  the  Eastern  Hemisphere.  From 
west  to  east  the  groups  are  Nearer  Islands,  W.  of  175° 
E.,  of  which  probably  Attu  is  best  known  owing  to  its 
basketry,  and  from  its  extreme  western  position,  which 
in  June  holds  the  setting  sun  until  it  rises  in  Maine. 
Between  175°  E.  and  180°  E.  are  Rat  Islands,  of  which 
Semisopochnoi  or  Seven  Peaks  is  one.  The  Andreanof- 
ski,  of  which  well-known  Atka,  with  its  beautifully 


GENERAL    DESCRIPTION          5 

woven  baskets  and  mats,  lies  between  180°  W.  and 
172°  W.  The  most  important  and  best  known,  how 
ever,  are  the  Fox  Islands,  which  lie  to  the  westward  of 
Alaska  Peninsula.  Of  these  is  Unimak,  washed  by  the 
pass  of  that  name,  which  is  the  route  to  and  from 
Nome;  and  Unalaska,  on  which  the  Dutch  harbor  is 
located,  formerly  the  base  of  operations  for  trade  and 
travel  in  the  Bering  Sea  region.  Scarcely  more  than  a 
score  of  the  Aleutian  Islands  are  inhabited.  In 
general  the  islands  are  desolate  and  scraggy,  with  many 
hot  springs  and  other  evidences  of  their  volcanic 
origin,  while  several  craters  show  minor  activity. 

While  the  Pribilof  group,  better  knowTi  as  the  Seal 
Islands,  are  some  200  miles  north  of  Unalaska,  they 
appear  to  pertain  rather  to  the  Aleutian  than  to  any 
other  system;  they  are  considered  elsewhere  (Chapter 
XIV). 

Seward  Peninsula.  As  one  proceeds  northward  into 
Bering  Sea  the  shore  conditions  materially  change 
beyond  Bristol  Bay.  The  coast  forests  disappear  and 
the  low  shores  continue  treeless  to  the  Arctic  Ocean, 
excepting  a  woodland  fringe  on  the  east  shore  of 
Norton  Sound  and  in  the  eastern  portions  of  Seward 
Peninsula. 

The  great  sounds  of  Norton  to  the  south  and  Kotze- 
bue  to  the  north,  form  Seward  Peninsula,  a  region  of 
about  20,000  square  miles.  Its  flat-topped  uplands, 
from  800  to  2,500  feet  elevation,  drain  most  largely  to 
the  south  through  broad  valleys  of  the  tundra  type. 
The  coasts  are  low  and  sandy,  unsuited  even  in  the  few 
bays  for  shipping  except  very  light  draft  boats. 


6          HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

Kotzebue  Sound  receives  two  quite  large  streams,  the 
Noatak  to  the  north  with  scant  timber,  and  the  more 
important  Kobuk  (Kowak)  to  the  south,  where  con 
siderable  bits  of  forest  and  abundant  game  are  found. 
For  further  references  see  Chapter  X. 

The  most  northerly  and  important  cape  of  the  Arctic 
coast  is  Point  Barrow,  71°  25'  N.  From  Kotzebue 
Sound  to  Barrow  the  shore  is  low  and  sandy;  thence 
eastward  along  the  Arctic  Ocean  to  the  Canadian 
boundary  the  coast  is  low,  without  harbors,  and  fringed 
with  outlying  shoals.  To  the  east  of  Barrow  the 
country  is  practically  uninhabited,  although  the 
interior  forests,  which  begin  about  one  hundred  miles 
inward,  and  the  watercourses  are  visited  by  Esquimaux 
hunters.  As  is  elsewhere  shown  (Chapter  XX),  Point 
Barrow  obtains  its  importance  as  a  base  of  operations 
for  the  whaling  industry. 

The  Yukon  watershed  comprises  nearly  one-half  of 
Alaska,  the  river  running  in  a  bow-shaped,  generally 
western  course  for  1,500  miles  from  the  Canadian 
boundary  to  Norton  Sound.  It  is  separated  from  the 
Arctic  coast  by  low  ranges  of  mountains,  in  which  find 
their  sources  far  to  the  northeast  in  Canada  the  Porcu 
pine,  and  in  the  north  the  Koyukuk,  a  parallel  stream 
to  the  Yukon  for  several  hundred  miles.  To  the  south 
eastward  the  watershed  is  limited  by  the  lofty  Alaska 
range,  from  whose  glacial  coverings  flows  the  Tanana 
northward,  joining  the  Yukon  at  Fort  Gibbon.  The 
Yukon  watershed  is  practically  covered  with  small 
timber,  except  in  the  lower  reaches  of  a  hundred  miles 
or  so  in  the  delta  country.  In  general  the  country 


GENERAL    DESCRIPTION          7 

is  rough,  and  apart  from  the  mountain  masses  consists 
largely  of  low  hills.  Where  it  is  not  mountainous,  as  in 
the  extensive  flats  near  Fort  Yukon,  the  plateaus  are 
almost  wholly  tundra.  The  Kuskokwim  watershed, 
while  much  smaller  than  the  Yukon,  is  of  the  same 
general  character;  in  its  more  elevated  parts  near  the 
McKinley  range  forest  covered  and  rough;  but  in 
the  coastal  region  a  tundra  country  interspersed  with 
lakes,  with  many  belts  of  timber,  although  its  im 
mediate  delta  is  treeless. 

Among  the  many  interesting  features  of  Alaskan 
geography  there  are  four  which  are  notable  owing  to 
their  practical  absence  from  the  physical  features  of 
the  United  States.  These  unique  characteristics  are 
the  fiords,  the  glacial  fields,  the  volcanic  ranges,  and  the 
tundra  regions. 

The  sharply  indented  fiords  have  great  depth  of 
water,  are  confined  by  lofty  precipitous  cliffs,  and  many 
are  from  20  to  100  miles  in  length.  With  many  rami 
fications  they  intersect  the  mountainous  coasts  of  the 
Alaskan  mainland  from  Portland  Canal  northward  to 
Prince  William  Sound.  Their  beauty  and  picturesque- 
ness  are  set  forth  elsewhere  (Chapter  XVII). 

The  Alaskan  mainland  as  far  north  as  the  Alaska 
Peninsula  presents  ideal  conditions  for  extensive  gla- 
ciation.  The  shores  rise  precipitously  from  the  open 
sea,  while  the  atmospheric  pressures  are  so  distrib 
uted  that  the  vapor-laden  winds  are  normally  drawn 
upward  over  the  mountain  ranges.  Largely  through 
the  cold  of  elevation,  the  prevailing  fogs  and  clouds  in 
their  passage  deposit  their  moisture  as  snow.  So 


8  HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

frequent  are  such  cloud-bearing  currents  that  enormous 
snowfalls  occur,  exceeding  in  many  places  a  hundred 
feet  or  more  annually  (see  Chapter  II) ;  hence  the  great 
glacial  fields  or  neves  of  Alaska,  which  are  nowhere 
else  equalled  on  the  North  American  continent.  While 
such  conditions  obtain  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  over 
an  area  of  more  than  40,000  square  miles — of  which 
one-fourth  is  ice-clad — the  deepest  snowfalls  and  the 
maximum  resulting  neve's  are  between  Icy  Strait,  south 
of  the  Fairweather  range,  and  the  Kenai  Peninsula  to 
the  west  of  Prince  William  Sound. 

Apart  from  the  larger  glaciers,  numbering  two  hun 
dred  and  more  (see  Table  5),  Muir  writes: 

In  the  iciest  region  the  smaller  glaciers,  a  mile  or 
two  to  ten  or  fifteen  miles  in  length,  once  tributary 
to  large  ones,  now  fill  in  countless  thousands  all 
the  subordinate  canons  and  upper  hollows  of  the 
mountains. 

The  grandeur  and  splendor  of  these  wonderful 
remnants  of  the  great  ice  age  are  set  forth  in  Chapter 
XVIII. 

In  striking  contrast  to  the  great  glaciers  of  the 
central  neve  region,  are  the  adjacent  peaks  of  fire  and 
lava.  From  smoking  Wrangell  of  to-day  there  stretch 
westward  for  a  thousand  miles  a  series  of  volcanic- 
formed  peaks,  mute  witnesses  of  the  terrific  internal 
forces  which  rent  the  earth,  displaced  the  sea,  and  re 
formed  lands  of  considerable  extent.  Dead  craters 
they  are  mostly  termed,  but  ever-changing  Grewingk 
(New  Bogoslof)  Island  affords  living  evidence  that  the 


GENERAL    DESCRIPTION          9 

days  of  lava  torrents,  flame  columns,  uprising  ridges, 
and  tidal  waves  have  not  passed  for  aye.  The  awe- 
inspiring  exhibitions' of  volcanic  forces  are  considered 
in  Chapter  XIX,  in  connection  with  the  subject  of 
Alaskan  mountain  masses. 

Wonderfully  dissimilar  to  peaks  of  fire  and  rivers  of 
ice,  as  well  as  to  striking  conformations  of  canon  and 
fiord,  are  the  immense  coastal  plains  scarcely  rising 
above  the  level  of  Bering  Sea,  and  the  gently  undulating 
plateaus  bordering  many  reaches  of  the  Yukon  and 
Kuskokwim.  As  English  speech  found  no  name  for 
our  Western  prairies,  so  Americans  have  adopted 
the  Siberian  tundra  to  describe  the  Alaskan  low 
land.  The  tundra  is  a  marshy,  practically  unbroken 
plain,  overgrown  with  vegetation,  which,  though 
level  to  the  eye,  presents  surfaces  most  irregular  in 
form  and  hence  most  difficult  to  traverse.  Collier  thus 
describes  it : 

On  the  lowland  plains  and  portions  of  the  upland 
where  drainage  is  imperfect  a  thick  mat  of  vegeta 
tion,  composed  of  mosses,  lichens,  sedges,  dwarf 
shrubs,  and  some  grass,  overlying  peat  beds,  covers 
the  surface  and  forms  the  tundra.  The  underlying 
soil  is  perpetually  frozen,  as  the  mat  of  vegetation 
and  peat  protects  it  from  changes  of  temperature,  but 
during  the  open  season  the  tundra  is  difficult  to  trav 
erse  on  account  of  its  soft,  swampy  surface. 

In  many  places  the  tundra  is  covered  with  great, 
detached  bunches  of  rough  grass,  known  as  nigger- 
heads,  and  travel  is  possible  only  by  stepping  from  one 
bunch  to  another — a  most  exhausting  method  owing 


10         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

to  irregular  distances  between  the  niggerheads  and  the 
uncertain  footing  afforded  by  them. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — Baker:  Geographic  Dictionary  of  Alaska;  Bulletin 
No.  299,  United  States  Geological  Survey,  1906.  Brooks:  Geography 
of  Alaska;  Professional  Paper  45,  United  States  Geological  Survey, 
1906.  Gannett:  Geography  of  Alaska;  Harriman  Alaska  Expedition, 
1901;  Dall:  Alaska  and  Its  Resources;  Elliott:  Our  Arctic  Province; 
Alaska  and  the  Seal  Islands. 


CHAPTER  II 
GOVERNMENT  AND  LAWS 

IN  the  early  years  of  Alaska's  history  as  a  part  of  the 
United  States,  it  suffered  from  the  utter  neglect  of 
Congress  as  regards  law  and  government,  so  that  there 
were  grounds  for  the  application  to  the  Territory  of 
Kipling's  aphorism  that 

Never  a  law  of  God  or  man 
Runs  north  of  Fifty-three. 

Article  III  of  the  treaty  of  cession,  ratified  by  the 
United  States  May  28,  1867,  contains  the  provision 
that- 

The  inhabitants  of  the  ceded  territory  ...  if  they 
should  prefer  to  remain  in  the  ceded  territory,  they, 
with  the  exception  of  the  uncivilized  tribes,  shall  be 
admitted  to  the  enjoyment  of  all  the  rights  and  immu 
nities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  shall  be 
maintained  and  protected  in  the  free  enjoyment  of 
their  liberty,  property,  and  religion.  The  uncivilized 
tribes  will  be  subject  to  such  laws  and  regulations  as 
the  United  States  may  from  time  to  time  adopt  in 
regard  to  aboriginal  tribes  of  that  country. 

For  seventeen  years  Congress  took  no  action  regard 
ing  Alaska  save  to  protect  financial  interests,  which 
it  did  July  27,  1868,  by  extending  to  it  laws  relative  to 
customs,  revenue,  and  navigation,  and  their  enforcement 

11 


12         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

by  the  courts  of  California,  Oregon,  and  Washington. 
In  1869  it  established  the  Seal  Islands  as  a  reservation 
and  authorized  their  lease  the  year  following.  Then 
for  fourteen  consecutive  years  Alaskan  legislation  was 
totally  neglected. 

The  President  took  action  by  sending  the  Army  in 
1867  to  protect  Alaska  (see  Chapter  V),  but  after  ten 
years  of  stormy  experiences  it  was  entirely  withdrawn 
and  Alaska  was  left  to  its  fate. 

Murder,  rapine,  and  lawlessness  followed,  and  the 
citizens  of  Sitka  in  one  extremity  appealed  for  aid  to 
British  Columbia  and  for  a  time  were  protected  by  the 
British  Navy.  Later  the  Revenue  Marine  Service  and 
the  United  States  Navy  alternately  assumed  control 
of  local  affairs. 

Of  conditions  in  Alaska  from  1867  to  1897  a  most 
competent  authority,  W.  H.  Ball,  writes: 

A  country  where  no  man  could  make  a  legal  will, 
own  a  homestead  or  transfer  it,  or  so  much  as  cut  wood 
for  his  fire  without  defying  a  Congressional  prohibition; 
where  polygamy  and  slavery  and  the  lynching  of 
witches  prevailed,  with  no  legal  authority  to  stay  or 
punish  criminals;  such  in  great  part  has  Alaska  been 
for  thirty  years. 

He  properly  adds: 

It  will  be  a  perpetual  testimony  to  the  character  of 
the  early  American  settlers  in  Alaska,  that  under  the 
circumstances  they  bore  themselves  so  well. 

This  tribute  to  Alaskans  confirms  statements  often 
made  by  the  writer,  based  on  his  frequent  visits  to  and 
long  experiences  with  Alaska,  that  as  a  whole  its  in- 


GOVERNMENT    AND    LAWS       13 

habitants  are  the  most  law-abiding  body  of  men  that 
he  has  ever  known. 

Seventeen  years  after  the  cession,  the  Act  of  May 
17,  1884,  extended  the  laws  of  Oregon  to  Alaska, 
authorized  a  governor,  established  district  courts  and 
commissioners,  created  a  land  district,  prohibited  im 
portation  of  liquors,  granted  mining  rights,  looked  to 
inquiries  regarding  the  Indians,  and  provided  for 
schools, — legislation  that  was  at  least  a  beginning, 
though  most  inadequate  in  means  and  extent. 

Where  moral  obligations  failed,  material  interests  pre 
vailed.  The  discovery  of  gold  and  the  influx  of  miners 
impelled  Congress  to  act,  and  on  May  14,  1898,  railway 
rights  were  granted.  On  March  5,  1899,  thirty-two 
years  after  the  cession,  Congress  gave  Alaska  its  first 
penal  code  and  also  a  code  of  criminal  procedure,  both 
drawn  from  the  statutes  of  Oregon.  The  Act  of  June  6, 
1900,  providing  for  a  civil  government,  made  the 
Territory  a  civil  and  judicial  district,  and  established 
the  seat  of  government  at  Juneau.  It  enlarged  the 
powers  of  the  governor  and  other  civil  officials,  pro 
vided  for  the  insane,  established  district  courts  for  each 
of  the  three  judicial  divisions  of  Alaska,  provided  for 
public  records,  extended  coal-land  laws,  confirmed  the 
rights  to  lands  actually  used  by  Indians,  schools,  and 
missions,  provided  for  secondary  education,  and 
established  a  system  of  licenses  on  all  classes  of  business. 

The  law  of  May  14,  1898,  being  inoperative  as  to 
homesteads — as  there  are  no  surveyed  lands  in  Alaska 
— it  was  amended  March  3,  1903,  so  that  a  homestead 
can  now  be  entered  on  unsurveyed  lands. 


14         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

Since  May  7,  1906,  when  Alaska  was  recognized  as  a 
"  Territory, "  it  has  representation  through  a  delegate 
in  Congress. 

While  the  Territory  now  has  executive  and  judicial 
officers,  it  is  without  any  legislative  body,  and  so  de 
pends  on  Congress  for  all  laws  and  legislation. 

Judicial  provisions  are  still  inadequate  to  the  needs 
of  the  country.  In  default  of  a  supreme  territorial 
court,  appeals  necessarily  go  to  the  Ninth  Circuit  of  the 
United  States  Court  of  Appeals,  causing  serious  de 
lays  and  enhanced  expenses.  The  Aleutian  Islands 
are  practically  without  courts,  and  the  enormous  area 
of  the  third  judicial  district,  the  Tanana  and  Yukon 
valleys,  overtaxes  the  judge,  delays  trials,  and  enor 
mously  increases  costs.  Minor  causes  are  tried  before 
United  States  commissioners — stationed  at  about  forty 
points — who  are  appointed,  and  are  removable  by  the 
district  judges.  The  power  of  the  commissioners  is 
great,  as  they  are  committing  magistrates,  can  try 
civil  cases  involving  values  to  one  thousand  dollars, 
and  criminal  cases  of  certain  classes  where  not  ex 
ceeding  a  year's  imprisonment  may  be  imposed.  They 
are  also  empowered  to  perform  almost  every  kind  of 
judicial  acts  pertaining  to  their  own  localities. 

All  things  considered,  governmental  provisions  for 
Alaska  have  been  wonderfully  improved  within  the 
past  decade,  and  future  advances  will  be  made  when 
ever  there  is  practical  unanimity  of  recommendation 
on  the  part  of  Alaska's  leading  citizens. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — Reports  of  the  Governor  of  Alaska  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior,  1901  to  1908;  Harrison's  AlasKa  Almanac,  1908. 


CHAPTER  III 
CLIMATE 

THE  impression  is  general  that  the  climate  of  Alaska 
is  arctic  in  its  character  and  its  severity.  Several  years 
since  life  insurance  was  refused  a  resident  of  Ketchikan 
on  the  ground  that  undue  risks  were  entailed  by  his 
harsh  surroundings  and  especially  severe  climate. 
It  is  difficult  to  convince  people  that  there  is  no  typical 
Alaskan  climate,  any  more  than  there  is  an  European 
or  American  climate.  The  extremes  of  latitude  and 
longitude  in  Alaska  find  their  parallel  in  Europe  be 
tween  Norway  and  Sicily — equal  to  the  difference 
between  Point  Barrow  and  Ketchikan — and  from 
western  France  to  central  Russia,  about  the  distance 
from  the  Alaskan  Peninsula  to  Skagway. 

Attempts  to  convey  an  idea  of  climate  by  the  annual 
means  of  temperature,  rainfall,  etc.,  are  fallacious  and 
unsatisfactory.  The  temperature  equability  is  best 
shown  by  the  mean  temperatures  of  the  warmest  and 
of  the  coldest  month.  As  an  illustration  it  is  known 
that  San  Francisco  and  St.  Louis,  which  are  in  sub 
stantially  the  same  latitude,  have  the  same  mean 
annual  temperature,  about  55:7°.  The  variations  of 
the  former  place  are  small  and  inconsiderable,  from 
50.2°  in  January,  the  coldest  month,  to  59.7°  in  Sep 
tember,  the  warmest  month — a  range  of  less  than  10° 

15 


16         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

in  the  monthly  means.  In  St.  Louis,  however,  the 
range  is  from  31.6°  in  January  to  78.4°  in  July — a 
range  of  46.8°,  or  nearly  five  times  as  great  as  at  San 
Francisco.  It  is  pertinent  to  note  that  the  coldest 
month  of  Sitka,  31.4°,  closely  agrees  with  the  coldest 
month  of  St.  Louis. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  mean  monthly  temperatures 
of  Alaskan  stations  are  very  high,  when  one  takes  into 
consideration  the  northern  latitudes  of  the  territory. 
Naturally  the  Aleutian  Isles  are  favored  by  most 
equable  temperatures  through  the  influences  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  This  is  shown  by  the  mean  tempera 
tures  of  Unalaska  of  51°  for  August  and  30°  for  Feb 
ruary.  Unalaska,  it  may  be  noted,  is  in  54°  N.,  the 
latitude  of  southern  Labrador. 

While  the  modifying  oceanic  influences  affect  the 
southern  Alaskan  coast  to  the  very  peninsula,  it  is 
most  noticeable  in  Sitkan  Alaska,  which  presents  a 
northerly  extension  of  the  temperature  conditions  of 
the  California  and  Washington  coast  region,  especially 
during  the  summer.  The  mean  temperature  of  San 
Francisco,  Cal.,  and  Port  Angeles,  Wash.,  for  August 
is  58°,  while  that  of  Sitka  is  57°,  and  of  Juneau  for  July 
57°. 

In  general  the  Sitkan  archipelago  presents  a  humid, 
equable  climate,  with  cool  summers,  warm  winters, 
and  very  frequent  rain  or  snow.  Of  the  coast  stations 
Sitka  is  typical,  with  its  annual  rainfall  of  111  inches, 
its  mean  of  33°  for  the  coldest  month,  February 
(practically  identical  with  the  January  mean  of  St. 
Louis),  and  of  57.2°  for  the  warmest  month,  August. 


CLIMATE  17 

Along  the  coast  extremes  are  rarely  known,  the  highest 
in  45  years  at  Sitka  being  87°  in  August,  while  the  low 
est  ever  recorded  is  — 3°  in  February.  Compare  these 
figures  with  St.  Louis,  106°  in  August  and  — 21.5°  in 
January,  and  the  equability  of  temperature  in  south 
eastern  Alaska  is  obvious.  Similar  temperature  con 
ditions  obtain  in  summer  from  the  St.  Elias  region 
westward  to  the  Alaskan  Peninsula,  though  the 
winters  are  considerably  colder.  Along  this  coast  the 
precipitation — rain  in  the  south  and  snow  in  the  north 
—is  frequent  and  heavy,  being  sometimes  excessive. 
For  instance,  at  Valdez  the  snowfall  in  the  winter  of 
1902-1903  was  60  feet  11  inches,  the  maximum  snow 
fall  here  observed;  the  average  annual  precipitation 
is  72.8  inches  of  rain  and  melted  snow.  At  Nuchek 
Harbor,  near  by,  there  was  a  rainfall  in  one  year  of 
190  inches.  These  large  amounts  of  rain  and  melted 
snow  indicate  that  over  the  adjacent  regions  there  fall 
in  some  years  from  60  to  150  feet  of  snow,  which  ex 
plains  clearly  the  presence  of  the  proportionately  large 
number  of  living  glaciers  in  Prince  William  Sound  and 
Yakutat  Bay. 

In  this  connection  Professor  George  Davidson  points 
out  the  great  desirability  of  regular  climatological  ob 
servations,  especially  with  reference  to  sea-currents, 
winds,  humidity,  and  rainfall. 

Farther  to  the  northward  the  coasts  are  washed  by 
the  Bering  Sea,  a  cold  body  of  water  with  an  average 
temperature  of  about  39°.  In  consequence  of  the  cold 
sea,  its  adverse  winds,  and  the  increasing  northing  it  is 
natural  to  find  a  harsher  climate  from  Bristol  Bay 


18         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

northward.  The  conditions  of  the  southern  half  of 
Seward  Peninsula,  of  which  Nome  is  the  business  centre, 
are  best  indicated  by  the  records  of  St.  Michael,  100 
miles  south  of  Nome,  where  the  equable  and  high  sum 
mer  temperatures  (53.6°  in  July)  are  offset  by  low  winter 
means  reaching  — 2.3°  in  February.  Its  rain  and 
melted  snow  during  the  year  averages  14.6  inches. 

The  Arctic  coasts  from  their  high  latitude,  and  con 
sequent  loss  of  the  midwinter  sun,  forty  days  at  Point 
Barrow,  experience  prolonged  winter  cold  and  brief 
summers.  The  scanty  precipitation  is  almost  entirely 
in  the  form  of  light,  winter  snowfalls.  Point  Barrow 
is  a  typical  winter  station,  with  a  yearly  rainfall  of 
6.62  inches  and  average  temperatures  of  39°  in  July, 
the  warmest  month,  and  of  — 21°  in  January,  the  coldest 
month.  The  severity  and  length  of  the  winter  are 
shown  by  the  fact  thatthe  average  temperature  is  below 
zero  from  November  to  April,  the  mean  for  the  six 
months  being  thirteen  degrees  below  zero. 

As  one  enters  the  interior  of  Alaska,  whether  by  the 
Copper  River,  the  Kuskokwim,  or  the  Yukon,  the 
climate  becomes  continental,  with  great  ranges  of 
temperature  between  the  short,  comparatively  hot 
summers  and  long,  cold  winters.  Within  a  hundred 
miles  of  the  coast  the  oceanic  influence  largely  disap 
pears,  its  gloomy  humid  aspects  giving  way  to  brighter 
skies  and  decreasing  rain  or  snow.  The  culmination 
of  the  summer  heat  and  of  the  winter  cold  is  found  at 
almost  the  greatest  distance  from  the  surrounding 
seas  — in  the  valley  of  the  upper  Yukon.  The  typical 
station  for  this  region  is  Fort  Yukon  with  its  July 


CLIMATE  19 

mean  of  64°  and  a  January  mean  of  — 31°,  which,  com 
pared  with  Point  Barrow,  300  miles  to  the  north,  shows 
a  lower  temperature  of  ten  degrees  in  winter  and  a 
higher  temperature  of  twenty-five  degrees  in  summer. 

The  rigors  of  the  past  climate  are  strikingly  illus 
trated  by  the  great  depths  to  which  the  ground  is 
frozen.  In  the  Nome  region  a  shaft  has  been  sunk  120 
feet  without  reaching  ground  free  from  frost,  and  near 
Dawson  the  earth  was  found  frozen  to  the  depth  of 
200  feet. 

Table  No.  2  gives  the  mean  temperatures  and  rain 
fall  for  ten  typical  and  well-distributed  stations. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — Dall  and  Baker:  Pacific  Coasts  Pilot;  Appendix  1. 
Meteorology,  1879,  Abbe:  Climate,  in  Brooks's  Geography  of  Alaska, 
Professional  Paper  45,  United  States  Geological  Survey,  1904;  Annual 
Reports  of  Chief  Signal  Officer  of  the  Army,  1878  to  1885. 


CHAPTER  IV 
WATERWAYS,  ROADS,  AND  RAILROADS 

THE  entire  absence  of  roads  in  Alaska,  until  the  past 
three  years,  has  made  river  transportation  practically 
the  only  method  of  extended  travel  in  the  Territory. 
Fortunately  the  river  systems  of  Alaska  are  such  as  to 
facilitate  very  greatly  personal  travel  and  the  movement 
of  freight  during  the  four  or  five  months  of  open  season. 
Waterways  in  Alaska  navigable  by  steamers  approxi 
mate  4,000  miles,  of  which  nearly  2,700  are  in  the 
Yukon  watershed. 

WATERWAYS 

The  great  artery  of  summer  travel  and  freight  is 
through  that  magnificent  stream,  the  Yukon,  which 
divides  Alaska  into  two  nearly  equal  parts  in  its  course 
of  about  1,500  miles,  flowing  in  a  bow-shaped  course, 
in  its  general  direction  of  east  to  west.  Formed  by 
the  junction  of  the  Pelley  and  Lewes,  its  length  from 
the  source  of  the  Lewes  to  the  Yukon  delta,  Norton 
Sound,  is  1,865  miles,  its  length  in  Alaska  being  about 
1,200  miles.  Flowing  in  its  upper  reaches  through 
canon-like  valleys,  it  debouches  shortly  after  entering 

Alaska  into  a  plateau  tundra  region,  where  its  wide 

20 


WATERWAYS    AND    ROADS      21 

and  winding  channels  divide  and  flow  sluggishly — 
especially  in  the  great  flats  near  Fort  Yukon;  there 
the  islands  and  cut-offs  make  the  river  from  ten  to 
thirty  miles  wide — again  to  find  precipitous  confining 
mountains  in  the  so-called  rampart  region,  near  Fort 
Hamlin.  From  Fort  Gibbon  to  Norton  Sound  the 
river  valley  grows  steadily  wider,  until  the  vast,  treeless 
delta  region  is  reached,  about  100  miles  inward  from 
Norton  Sound.  The  delta  has  an  area  of  about  9,000 
square  miles,  greater  in  extent  than  any  one  of  the 
States  of  New  Jersey,  Massachusetts,  Maryland,  Ver 
mont,  or  New  Hampshire. 

Although  one  of  the  largest  rivers  of  North  America, 
exceeded  in  length  or  volume  by  only  the  Mississippi, 
Mackenzie,  St.  Lawrence,  and  Winnipeg,  yet  the  useful 
ness  of  the  Yukon,  though  navigable  throughout  its 
entire  extent,  is  largely  restricted  by  its  very  shallow 
mouths,  which  admit  boats  drawing  not  over  three  or 
four  feet  of  water.  In  consequence  all  freight  ship 
ments  for  the  Yukon  watershed  are  transferred  from 
the  ocean  steamships  to  river  steamboats  which  run  to 
St.  Michael,  ninety  miles  seaward  from  the  Apoon 
mouth  of  the  delta. 

The  Yukon  navigation  is  divided  into  two  sharply 
separated  systems — the  Canadian  and  the  American— 
with  Dawson,  Yukon  territory,  as  the  line  of  demarca 
tion.  This  is  caused  by  the  customs  and  navigation 
laws,  which  practically  necessitate  the  transshipment  of 
everything  in  and  out  of  Alaska  via  the  upper  Yukon, 
at  Dawson;  and  again  every  boat  coming  into  the 
Alaskan  Yukon  is  obliged  to  stop  and  submit  to  cus- 


22         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

torus'  examination  at  Eagle,  about  100  miles  below 
Dawson. 

The  Canadian  system  is  also  affected  by  the  spring 
and  summer  conditions  of  the  chain  of  lakes,  which 
forms  the  extreme  upper  Yukon  (or  Lewes),  through 
early  autumn  freezing  and  late  break-ups  in  the  spring. 
The  more  rapid,  as  well  as  the  more  northerly,  river 
keeping  open  longer  than  the  lake  section,  part  of  the 
steamers  are  wintered  north  of  Lake  Lebarge,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Hootalinqua,  ninety  miles  north  of  White 
Horse — which  is  the  terminus  of  the  White  Pass  and 
Yukon  Railway.  In  six  years'  consecutive  record,  the 
average  period  between  the  dates  of  the  first  boat  and 
last  boat  from  White  Horse  to  Dawson  was  four  months 
and  nineteen  days — from  June  4  to  October  23.  The 
average  date  of  the  first  boat  from  Hootalinqua  to 
Dawson  was  May  13, — thus  lengthening  the  navigation 
period  by  twenty  days.  The  earliest  date  that  the  first 
boat  has  reached  Dawson  was  May  16  from  Hootalinqua, 
but  in  two  years  it  was  delayed  until  May  26.  The 
average  date  of  the  last  boat  arriving  at  White  Horse 
from  Dawson  is  October  28,  although  in  1902  a  boat 
arrived  as  late  as  November  4. 

At  Fort  Gibbon  (Tanana  P.  0.),  junction  of  the 
Yukon  and  Tanana,  the  two  rivers  are  open  on  the 
average  by  May  13  and  closed  by  November  1,  an 
interval  of  five  months  and  nineteen  days.  In  eight 
years  the  opening  of  navigation  ranged  from  May  7  to 
24,  and  its  closing  from  October  21  to  November  9. 

The  period  of  navigation  from  Fort  Gibbon  up  the 
Yukon  River,  to  Dawson,  is  materially  longer  than  it 


WATERWAYS    AND    ROADS      23 

is  down  river  toward  Norton  Sound;  its  mean  duration 
in  three  consecutive  years  being  four  months  and 
fourteen  days  to  Dawson,  from  May  21  to  October  5. 
Toward  St.  Michael  the  time  of  navigation  averages 
three  months  and  fifteen  days,  from  June  15  to  Sep 
tember  30.  The  arrival  of  the  first  boat  from  Dawson 
has  ranged  from  May  19  to  23,  and  from  St.  Michael 
from  June  2  to  24. 

Between  Fort  Gibbon  and  Fort  Egbert  (Eagle  City), 
575  miles  up  the  Yukon,  the  boats  usually  run  up  river 
from  June  1  to  October  6,  and  down  from  May  16  to 
September  17.  In  general  it  takes  twice  as  long  to  go 
up  the  Yukon  by  steamboat  as  it  does  to  come  down 
the  same  distance. 

The  most  northerly  important  affluent  of  the  Yukon, 
within  Alaska,  is  the  Porcupine,  which  joins  it  at 
Fort  Yukon,  just  north  of  the  Arctic  Circle;  it  is 
navigable  for  light-draft  steamboats  for  about  100 
miles.  On  this,  as  on  other  rivers,  small  poling  boats 
are  available  for  navigation  to  much  greater  distances, 
dependent  largely  on  freshet-water  conditions. 

From  its  volume  of  water,  length  of  course,  and  its 
commercial  relations,  the  Tanana  is  far  the  most  im 
portant  tributary  of  the  Yukon.  First  navigated  in  its 
lower  reaches  in  1893,  it  was  opened  to  Chena  in  1898, 
and  regular  summer  navigation  has  been  had  since 
1901  with  Fairbanks,  about  300  miles  up  the  river. 
Occasional  steamboats  have  carried  supplies  up  the 
Tanana  to  Delta  River,  and  one  reached  the  junc 
tion  of  the  Nabesna,  about  700  miles  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Tanana.  If  mineral  developments  should 


24         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

ever  justify,  the  Tanana  and  its  main  upper  fork,  the 
Chisana,  could  be  navigated  by  very  light-draft  boats 
for  a  distance  of  about  750  miles.  Among  the  Tanana 's 
affluents,  the  Kantishna  has  been  navigated  about  200 
miles,  while  the  Chena,  Tolovana,  and  lower  Volkmar 
are  likewise  practicable  for  light  steamers,  and  most 
other  tributaries  for  small  boats. 

The  period  of  navigation  on  the  Yukon  is  exceeded 
in  duration  by  that  on  the  Tanana.  For  three  years 
between  Fort  Gibbon  (Tanana  post-office)  and  Chena 
or  Fairbanks,  its  usual  duration  was  five  months.  The 
average  date  of  opening  was  May  14  and  of  closing 
October  14.  A  boat  has  reached  Fort  Gibbon  from 
Chena  as  early  as  May  8,  and  as  late  as  October  17. 

In  Cook  Inlet  region  the  Susitna,  with  a  basin  of  8,000 
square  miles,  has  been  navigated  by  steamers  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Chulitna,  and  its  main  tributary  the 
Yentna  to  the  mouth  of  the  Kichatna.  In  Lynn  Canal 
the  Chilkat  is  practicable  for  very  small  steamers  to 
Klutwan,  25  miles  from  the  mouth. 

The  Copper  River  is  now  navigated  during  the 
months  of  July  and  August,  in  conjunction  with  the 
Copper  River  Railway,  from  the  head  of  Abercrombie 
Rapids  to  Copper  Centre,  while  the  mouth  of  the 
Gulkana  can  be  reached.  It  is  thought  that  the  upper 
Copper,  now  practicable  for  poling  boats,  can  be 
utilized  for  very  light-draft  steamers.  The  Chitina, 
a  tributary  of  the  Copper,  is  navigable  to  the  Nizina, 
and  possibly  the  mouth  of  the  Tana  may  be  reached. 

The  Alsek,  Kvichak,  Unalaklik,  and  many  other 
small  rivers  are  practicable  for  poling  boats. 


WATERWAYS    AND    ROADS      25 

Portages 

In  no  country  are  portages  of  greater  importance  to 
the  traveller  than  in  Alaska.  The  following  are  the 
most  important: 

Chipp-Colville. 

Cook  Inlet  with  Illiamna  Lake,  via  Illiamna  Bay. 

Copper  with  Tanana. 

Koyukuk  with  Kobuk,  via  Alatna,  and  via  Hogatza. 

Koyukuk  with  Yukon,  via  Chandlar,  via  Dall,  via 
Tozi,  via  Hosiana  and  Melozi. 

Kuskokwim  with  Nushagak  and  thence  to  Chulitna. 

Kuskokwim,  see  Tanana  and  Yukon. 

Kuskokwim  with  Togiak  Lake. 

Nushagak  with  Chulitna. 

Tanana  with  Kuskokwim,  via  Cosna  and  via  Kan- 
tishna. 

Tanana  with  Copper. 

Tanana  with  Yukon,  via  Fortymile  and  Volkmar. 

Yukon  with  Lynn  Canal,  via  Chilkat  or  Chilkoot 
Pass. 

Yukon  with  Mackenzie,  via  Porcupine  and  Bell  (or 
Peel). 

Yukon  with  Kuskokwim,  probably  via  Innoko  and 
also  Nowi,  and  via  series  of  lakes  opposite  Ikogmut. 

Yukon  with  Koyukuk,  via  Chandlar,  via  Dall,  via 
Hosiana,  via  Melozi,  via  Tozi  and  Kanuti. 

Yukon  with  Tanana,  via  Fortymile  and  Volkmar. 

Yukon  with  Norton  Sound,  via  Kaltag  and  Una- 
laklik. 


26         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

ROADS 

The  advisability  of  supplementing  summer  means 
of  water  travel  by  a  suitable  system  of  roads  was 
obvious  early  in  the  development  of  the  resources 
of  Alaska.  It  was  not,  however,  until  the  Act  of 
January  27,  1905,  that  means  and  methods  were 
provided.  Through  a  board  of  road  commissioners, 
and  by  liberal  appropriations  by  Congress,  in  addition 
to  the  allotments  from  the  Alaskan  license  fund,  an 
economic  revolution  has  been  wrought  in  land  trans 
portation.  Fortunately  the  road  commissioners,  com 
posed  of  three  officers  of  the  Army,  has  had  as  its 
president  Major  W.  P.  Richardson,  whose  executive- 
ability  and  activity,  supplemented  by  experience, 
gained  during  twelve  years  of  service  in  various  parts  of 
Alaska,  have  accomplished  great  results  since  1905. 
Congress  appropriated  $150,000  in  1906;  $250,000  in 
1907;  $250,000  in  1908;  and  $350,000  in  1909.  In  addi 
tion  it  gave  $35,000  to  survey  a  road  between  Fairbanks 
and  Nome,  and  had  previously  appropriated  $1,500  for 
the  survey  of  a  road  from  near  Ball  River  to  Coldfoot, 
and  about  $6,000  for  a  road  survey  between  Valdez 
and  Coldfoot. 

Naturally  each  mining  district  considered  its  claims 
and  local  needs  of  the  greatest  importance,  but  the 
commissioners  first  applied  themselves  to  roads  of  the 
greatest  importance  to  the  Territory  as  a  whole,  and 
recognized  local  needs  only  when  urgently  and  ob 
viously  important.  First  in  order  were  roads  to  insure 
regular  and  speedy  mail  service  during  the  entire  year, 


WATERWAYS    AND    ROADS      27 

and  to  provide  facilities  for  its  transportation  over 
American  territory,  and  independently  of  Canadian 
assistance  as  far  as  possible.  Prior  to  the  establishment 
of  this  road  system  almost  the  entire  interior  of  Alaska 
was  without  mail  for  weeks  at  a  time  during  the 
periods  elapsing  between  the  close  of  navigation,  the 
freezing  of  streams,  and  the  forming  of  winter  trails; 
similar  delays  obtained  after  the  break-up  each  spring. 

The  most  important  line  of  overland  travel  in  Alaska 
is  unquestionably  that  located  and  built  northward 
from  Valdez  by  the  road  commissioners  for  Alaska. 
Following  the  United  States  Signal  Corps  telegraph 
line,  it  connects  Valdez,  the  most  northerly  open  port 
in  North  America,  with  Fairbanks,  which  is  the  prac 
tical  head  of  navigation  on  the  Tanana  River.  Winter 
mails  for  all  Alaska  north  and  west  of  Valdez  pass  over 
this  system  of  roads.  At  Fairbanks  begin  various 
other  roads  and  trails,  over  which  Circle,  Fort  Gibbon 
(Tanana),  Nome,  and  the  rest  of  the  Seward  Peninsula 
are  reached. 

Between  Valdez  and  Fairbanks  the  length  of  the 
road  travelled  in  summer  is  385  miles,  reduced  in  winter 
by  cut-offs  to  354  miles.  Although  practicable  for 
heavy  freight  in  winter  only,  yet  the  road  is  passable 
in  summer  for  buckboard  or  light-wheeled  traffic  for 
over  three-quarters  of  the  distance,  and  by  horse 
trail  the  rest  of  the  way.  All  river  crossings  are  passa 
ble,  except  the  Tanana,  Gulkana,  and  Delta  glacial 
stream,  where  ferries  or  bridges  are  now  under  process 
of  construction. 

From  Valdez  the  road  passes  through  Keystone 


28         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

Canon,  Lowe  River,  and  over  Thompson  Pass  into 
Copper  River  Valley.  Continuing  through  Teikhill 
Valley  and  crossing  the  Tonsina,  Klutina,  and  Tazlina 
rivers  it  then  follows  the  west  bank  of  Copper  River, 
which  it  leaves  to  ascend  the  Gulkana  on  its  north 
bank,  crossing  the  river  by  ferry.  Reaching  the  Delta 
glacial  stream  through  Isabelle  Pass,  summit  of  the 
Alaskan  range,  it  keeps  the  east  bank  to  the  Tanana 
River,  which  is  crossed  by  private  ferry;  thence  to 
Fairbanks,  some  ninety  miles,  it  closely  follows  the 
Tanana.  In  winter  the  route  is  shortened  by  diver 
gence  about  thirty-five  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Big  Delta,  where  a  marshy  tundra,  practicable  only 
when  frozen,  is  crossed  to  the  confluence  of  the  Little 
Delta  and  Tanana,  at  Washburn. 

Practically  the  whole  route  is  settled,  though 
sparsely,  and  road-houses  are  situated  at  intervals  of 
ten  to  twenty  miles,  where  most  comfortable  accommo 
dations  are  found.  Many  of  these  enterprising  pro 
prietors  have  made  homestead  entries,  are  keeping 
stock,  growing  grain  fodder,  and  raising  vegetables 
which  are  often  abundant  and  excellent.  Their  pres 
ence  and  facilities  tend  to  the  thorough  exploration 
of  the  adjacent  mineral  fields  by  the  ever-present  and 
persistent  prospectors. 

The  main  mail  artery,  passing  through  Hot  Springs 
and  Fort  Gibbon,  continues  down  the  Yukon  via 
Nulato,  and  over  the  Kaltag  portage  to  Unalaklik, 
whence,  St.  Michael  being  reached  by  a  side  route,  the 
shores  of  Norton  Sound  are  practically  followed  to  the 
settlements  of  Seward  Peninsula  and  Nome. 


WATERWAYS    AND    ROADS      29 

This  system  of  roads  has  already  accomplished  the 
main  end  sought  by  the  commissioners,  the  rapid  and 
regular  transmission  of  through  mails  in  all  Alaska. 
The  average  time  for  mails  from  Valdez  to  Fairbanks 
was  reduced  to  8  days,  16  hours,  and  25  minutes  during 
the  winter  of  1907-1908,  and  one  mail  was  transported 
in  6  days  and  8  hours.  Winter  mail  from  Seattle  is 
now  delivered  in  about  43  days  at  Nome,  and  has 
been  transmitted  in  38  days.  A  private  dog  team  has 
travelled  over  this  road  to  Nome  in  30  days  from  Seattle 
and  23  days  from  Valdez.  Winter  express  service  was 
before  impossible  for  interior  Alaska,  but  now  such 
matter  is  regularly  delivered,  and  much  winter  freight 
is  handled,  to  the  great  advantage  of  the  Territory  as 
a  whole. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Fairbanks  there  are  eight  local 
roads  aggregating  64  miles  in  length.  Longer  separate 
routes  are  the  sled  roads  from  Cleary  to  Birch  Creek, 
54  miles;  from  the  mouth  of  the  Salcha  to  Caribou, 
45  miles;  and  the  road  from  Hot  Springs  to  Gulch 
Creek  region,  22  miles. 

Fairbanks  is  really  the  centre  of  the  road  system  of 
Alaska,  as  from  that  point  roads  and  trails  not  only 
lead  to  the  adjacent  mining  districts,  but  also  eastward 
to  the  Salcha  Valley;  northeastward  to  Circle,  Eagle, 
and  Dawson;  and  northwestward  to  Hot  Springs. 
This  last  road  is  the  most  important,  the  great  winter 
mail  route  to  Fort  Gibbon  (Tanana);  to  the  entire 
Yukon  Valley  except  Eagle  and  Fortymile,  which  are 
reached  via  Dawson;  to  the  Koyukuk  region;  to  Seward 
Peninsula  and  Arctic  Alaska — Point  Barrow,  etc. 


30         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

In  addition  to  its  connection  with  Fairbanks,  before 
mentioned,  Eagle  can  now  reach  Fortymile  over  an 
American  road,  though  previously  nearly  all  travel  and 
all  supplies  passed  through  Canadian  territory. 

On  Seward  Peninsula  Nome  is  connected  with  all  im 
portant  mining  camps  not  reached  by  railway.  There 
are  on  the  peninsula  sixteen  roads  aggregating  50 
miles  in  length.  Freighting  is  now  practicable  over 
the  greater  portion  of  the  peninsula,  where  packing  was 
the  only  method  of  transportation  some  time  since. 

The  flagging  of  winter  trails  in  this  bleak  and  tree 
less  tundra  country  has  rendered  travel  in  the  winter 
darkness,  during  periods  of  storm,  much  less  hazardous. 
The  difficulties  of  safe  travel  on  Seward  Peninsula  are 
very  great  during  the  period  of  winter  and  almost  sun 
less  days  over  a  gently  rolling  unbroken  tundra,  where 
there  is  no  tree,  bush,  or  even  stone  to  mark  the  trail 
or  relieve  the  unvarying  monotony.  In  earlier  years 
scores  of  bewildered  travellers  have  wandered  from  the 
dim,  snow-covered  trail  and  miserably  perished  in  the 
winter  blizzards.  The  extent  of  such  travel  and  the 
length  of  routes  are  conveyed  by  the  statement  that 
nearly  500  miles  of  such  trails  are  annually  flagged,— 
slight  sticks  provided  with  red  flannel  flags  being 
planted  in  the  snow  from  50  to  100  yards  apart,  ac 
cording  to  the  character  of  the  country. 

The  road  commission  looked  in  its  construction  to 
doing  standard  work  that  would  be  of  lasting  and 
permanent  benefit.  They  have  built  good  country 
roads  16  feet  wide,  winter  sled  roads  12  feet  wide, 
trails  8  feet,  and  bridges  14  feet  wide.  The  immediate 


RAILROADS  31 

result  of  road  building  was  the  reduction  of  freight 
rates  about  half  along  their  routes,  while  travel  in 
creased  enormously,  to  the  general  good. 

RAILROADS 

There  can  be  no  stronger  evidence  of  the  permanency 
of  the  population  and  industries  of  Alaska  than  the 
construction  of  railroads  in  this  far-distant  territory. 
The  law  of  May  14,  1898,  granted  to  duly  incorporated 
railways,  wagon  roads,  and  tramways  a  right  of  way  of 
100  feet  on  each  side  of  the  road.  Twenty-seven  rail 
ways,  four  tramways,  and  several  wagon  roads  have 
filed  articles  of  incorporation.  Ten  corporations  have 
built  railways,  aggregating  333.5  miles  of  completed 
road,  which  are  distributed  as  follows: 

Southeastern  Alaska 

White  Pass  and  Yukon  Railroad,  from  Skagway  to 
international  boundary,  narrow  gauge,  20.5  miles. 
Extends  90.5  miles  into  Canadian  territory  to  White 
Horse,  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Yukon.  Railway 
runs  the  entire  year;  connecting  steamboats  from 
White  Horse  run  about  five  months  each  summer  to 
Dawson,  which  in  winter  is  reached  by  stage  from 
White  Horse. 

Yakutat  Bay  Region 

Yakutat  Southern  Railroad,  standard  gauge,  12 
miles,  from  Minto  Bay  Cannery  to  Situk  Bay  for  salmon 
during  fishing  season;  also  handles  lumber. 


32         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

Copper  River  Region 

Copper  River  Railroad,  standard  gauge,  53.5  miles 
from  Cordova  to  head  of  Abercrombie  Rapids  (1908). 
Graded  or  cleared  many  miles  in  advance  of  present 
terminus.  Operates  steamers  on  Copper  and  Chitina 
rivers  in  summer.  Construction  work  is  progressing 
steadily  via  the  valleys  of  the  Copper  and  Chitina  to 
the  confluence  of  the  Nizina  and  Kennicott  rivers,  in 
the  heart  of  the  copper  district. 

The  Copper  River  and  Northwestern  Railroad,  stan 
dard  gauge,  6.5  miles,  from  Katalla  connects  with 
Copper  River  Railroad. 

Kenai  Peninsula  (Cook  Inlet) 

Alaska  Central,  standard  gauge,  52  miles,  from 
Resurrection  Bay  to  vicinity  of  Lake  Kenai,  near  head 
of  Turnagain  Arm.  The  road  is  graded  more  or  less 
to  the  93d  mile,  and  the  right  of  way  cleared  to  the 
110th  mile,  near  Sunrise. 

Cook  Inlet  and  Coalfields  Railroad,  narrow  gauge, 
8.5  miles  from  Homer,  Kachemack  Bay  to  coal  fields. 
(Suspended  operations  temporarily.) 

Fairbanks  District 

Tanana  Railroad,  narrow  gauge,  44.5  miles,  from 
Chena  to  Gilmore  and  to  Chatinika  (near  Cleary  Creek) 
40  miles,  with  branch  of  4.5  miles  to  Fairbanks.  Runs 
the  whole  year,  connecting  the  most  important  placer 
mines. 


RAILROADS  33 

Seward  Peninsula 

Council  City  and  Solomon  River  Railroad,  standard 
gauge,  33  miles,  from  Solomon  to  Penelope  Creek. 

Golovin  Bay  Railroad  (also  called  Wild  Goose  Rail 
road),  narrow  gauge,  6.5  miles,  from  Council  City 
to  Ophir  Creek. 

Seward  Peninsula  Railroad,  narrow  gauge,  96.5 
miles,  from  Nome  to  Shelton  85  miles,  with  the  Pay- 
streak  and  Sunset  branches  of  6  miles  each.  This  is 
the  "Wild  Goose "  railway  of  1900.  An  extension  of 
twenty-two  miles  into  the  Kougarok  district  is  arranged 
from  Shelton,  the  present  distributing  centre. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — Brooks:  Geography  and  Geology  of  Alaska. 
Richardson:  Report  of  Road  Commissioners  of  Alaska;  1906,  1907, 
1908. 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  ARMY  IN  ALASKA 

A  BRIEF  statement  as  to  the  work  of  the  Army  appears 
desirable,  owing  to  its  extended  period  of  occupation, 
and  the  important  part  played  by  it  in  the  government, 
exploration,  and  development  of  the  Territory.  The 
general  character  of  its  services  is  set  forth  by  Mr. 
0.  P.  Austin  in  his  valuable  " Commercial  Alaska/' 
where  he  says: 

Since  the  foundation  of  our  government  the  lines  of 
the  Army  have  advanced  simultaneously  with  the 
advance  of  the  settler  along  our  vast  frontier.  It  has 
been  the  uniform  policy  of  the  government  to  foster  the 
development  of  the  country  by  exploring  and  opening 
up  trails  for  emigrants  and  prospectors,  convoying  their 
supplies,  aiding  in  the  transmission  of  their  mail — in  all 
things  extending  a  helping  hand  to  them  and  in  keeping 
step  with  the  advance  of  American  civilization.  The 
Army  of  the  United  States  has  always  been  the  advance 
guard  of  civilization.  Wherever  it  has  gone  its  protec 
tion  has  been  freely  given  to  every  American  citizen. 

It  was  General  L.  H.  Rousseau,  United  States  Army, 
who  formally  accepted  Alaska  from  Russia,  and  occu 
pied  Sitka  with  a  military  force  on  October  18,  1867. 
Military  posts  were  established  at  Kenai,  Kodiak,  Sitka, 
Tongass,  and  Wrangell,  with  detachments  on  the  islands 
of  St.  Paul  and  St.  George;  all  except  Sitka  were  with 
drawn  in  1870. 

34 


THE    ARMY    IN    ALASKA          35 

The  duties  of  the  Army  were  neither  formulated  in 
regulations  nor  authorized  by  law.  Their  scope  as 
viewed  by  officers  was  to  prevent  difficulties  between 
incoming  Americans  and  the  Indians,  and  properly  to 
enforce  the  provisions  of  the  Indian  trade  and  inter 
course  laws  regarding  arms  and  liquor.  General 
Howard  stated  that  it  would  be  easy  for  the  Army,  if 
duly  authorized,  to  preserve  peace  and  establish  police 
regulations,  but  authority  so  to  do  was  questioned  by 
the  United  States  District  Court,  while  the  repeated 
efforts  of  the  commanding  general  to  secure  the  estab 
lishment  of  a  civil  government  were  steadily  ignored. 

The  activity  of  the  Army  in  carrying  out  its  orders 
elicited  bitter  criticism.  Reporting  on  affaire  at  the 
Seal  Islands,  prior  to  the  lease  of  the  Alaska  Commercial 
Company,  it  incurred  enmity  by  officially  stating  that 
the  Pribilof  natives  were  suffering  "  enslavement  and 
robbery  by  an  unscrupulous  ring  of  speculators."  As 
Indian  wars  give  local  traders  patronage  and  contracts, 
the  tendencies  to  adjust  troubles  peacefully  with  the 
natives  were  viewed  askant  as  unmilitary  and  unbusi 
nesslike.  To  stimulate  industry  among  the  natives,  it 
was  recommended  that  Indians  be  hired  to  cut  wood, 
which  resulted  in  attacks  from  interested  contractors. 
The  Army's  insistence  that  Alaska  was  an  Indian 
country,  where  neither  firearms  nor  liquor  could  be 
imported,  was  bitterly  fought  by  traders  and  politicians 
before  the  department,  and  it  was  years  before  the 
Army's  point  of  view  was  sustained  by  Congress  and 
the  courts. 

Meantime  civil  regulations  authorized  the  importa- 


36         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

tion  by  officials  of  liquor  in  "limited  quantities." 
Sales  of  " surplus"  liquor,  with  smuggling  of  arms  and 
spirits,  steadily  proceeded,  with  unfortunate  results. 
Treasury  officials  sold  in  Sitka  at  public  auction  liquor 
seized  by  the  Army,  and  then  blandly  complained  that 
the  military  was  not  suppressing  the  liquor  traffic,. 
Repeated  requests  for  a  steam  vessel  to  permit  raids 
on  smugglers  and  liquor  dealers  were  without  avail. 

Disturbed  conditions  due  to  the  Stikine  gold  dis 
coveries  led  to  the  reoccupation  of  Fort  Wrangell  in 
1875,  the  impossibility  of  otherwise  maintaining  order 
and  peace  being  generally  recognized.  Finally — 
happy  day  for  the  service,  though  not  for  the  Territory 
— the  Army  sailed  away  from  Alaska,  after,  as  we  are 
told  by  a  well-known  writer,  a  service  not  highly 
creditable.  This  local  judgment  was  natural,  since  the 
business  methods  of  many  of  the  early  Alaskan  captains 
of  industry  did  not  accord  with  Army  ideals  as  to 
probity  and  propriety. 

The  Army's  sins  of  omission  and  commission  were 
not  specified,  but  what  it  did  may  be  stated.  It  had 
brought  the  Indians  into  a  state  of  submission  and 
peace — its  military  duty.  Moreover  it  had  fed  the 
starving,  cared  for  the  suffering,  and  nursed  the  sick; 
it  had  largely  suppressed  smuggling  and  illegal  trade 
in  arms  and  liquor;  it  had  discouraged  corrupt  business 
methods  and  protested  against  the  enslavement  and 
robbery  of  natives;  it  had  vainly  besought  civil  govern 
ment  and  opened  day  schools;  finally  it  had  fostered 
morality  by  religious  teaching  of  children,  established 
the  first  native  Protestant  church  in  Alaska,  and  by  its 


THE    ARMY    IN    ALASKA          37 

initiative  and  petition  led  the  Christian  people  of  the 
United  States  to  extend  a  helping  hand  to  the  natives 
of  Alaska.  (See  Chapter  XXI.)  These  deeds  are  not 
strictly  military  duties,  and  while  they  are  extra-legal 
acts  without  warrant  of  law,  they  were  justified  by  the 
law  of  emergency  and  impelled  by  the  obligations  of 
our  higher  moral  nature. 

As  General  Howard  wrote:  "The  officers  of  the 
Army  were  denied  the  jurisdiction  for  an  ordinary 
police,  on  the  one  hand,  and  held  responsible  for  order 
and  enforcement  of  the  law  on  the  other. "  Whether 
they  did  well  or  ill,  at  least  they  tried  to  do  their  duty 
in  those  early  days. 

Civil  conditions  after  the  departure  of  the  Army 
cannot  be  recounted  without  a  sense  of  shame.  A 
pandemonium  of  drunkenness,  disorder,  property  de 
struction,  and  personal  violence  obtained  at  Sitka, 
which  eventuated  in  murder,  followed  by  a  threatened 
Indian  uprising,  and  frantic  appeals  for  protection  that 
was  temporarily  accorded  by  a  British  man-of-war. 

The  Signal  Corps  of  the  Army  re-entered  Alaska  for 
scientific  work  and  occupied  twenty-nine  different  and 
well-distributed  climatic  stations,  until  their  discon 
tinuance  was  practically  directed  by  Congress  in  1884 
as  useless.  The  contributions  to  Alaskan  knowledge 
by  Ray,  Murdock,  Turner,  Nelson,  and  Fish  were  the 
forerunners  of  extensive  and  valuable  work  by  the 
various  executive  departments  of  the  United  States. 

The  second  advent  of  the  Army  in  Alaska  arose  from 
disturbed  conditions  connected  with  the  so-called 
stampede  to  the  gold  placers  of  the  Klondike.  In  the 


38         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

summer  of  1897  some  20,000  men  came  together  on 
the  shores  of  Lynn  Canal,  a  country  without  law,  with 
out  courts,  without  habitations,  and  almost  without 
food  resources.  Mostly  men  of  character,  though  with 
many  reckless  adventurers,  all  were  animated  by  a 
single  aim,  to  reach  with  speed  the  gold-fields  of  the-. 
Canadian  Klondike,  which  could  only  be  done  by 
private  transportation  over  almost  unknown  routes. 

Conditions  of  hardship  and  lawlessness,  of  suffering 
and  contention  speedily  arose,  and  the  Army  was 
turned  to  as  the  only  power  that  could  control  and 
ameliorate  the  situation.  Unwilling,  as  always,  to 
obtrude  its  activities  into  the  domain  of  civil  govern 
ment  the  Secretary  of  War  acted  promptly  through  a 
preliminary  reconnoissance,  which  was  sent  to  the 
upper  Yukon  via  St.  Michael.  Two  officers — Captain 
(now  General)  P.  H.  Ray,  and  Lieutenant  (now  Major) 
W.  P.  Richardson — were  directed  to  investigate  con 
ditions  and  report  promptly  the  lines  and  places  of 
military  operation  best  calculated  to  remedy  matters. 

In  southeastern  Alaska  affairs  steadily  grew  from 
bad  to  worse.  Reports  as  to  the  number,  character, 
and  condition  of  the  gold  seekers  near  Skagway  be 
came  so  alarming,  and  complications  regarding  Cana 
dian  customs  so  involved,  that  the  military  district  of 
Lynn  Canal  was  established  under  Colonel  (now  Gen 
eral)  T.  H.  Anderson  with  the  14th  Infantry.  As  a 
matter  of  wise  precaution  Colonel  (now  General)  G.  M. 
Randall  occupied  the  military  district  at  St.  Michael 
with  the  8th  Infantry.  The  presence  of  troops  re 
stored  confidence,  and  affairs  were  discreetly  and  peace- 


THE    ARMY    IN    ALASKA          39 

fully  managed  by  the  army  until  temporary  and  stable 
local  government  was  organized  by  the  miners. 

In  addition,  reports  of  starvation  conditions  in  the 
Klondike  were  circulated  with  such  detailed  assiduity 
by  interested  parties,  that  Congress  appropriated  large 
sums  for  the  relief  of  the  Klondike  miners,  but  after 
considerable  amounts  had  been  spent  for  supplies  and 
for  reindeer  transportation  (an  ill-advised  scheme  that 
did  not  originate  with  the  army)  the  expedition  was 
abandoned,  as  no  necessity  therefor  ever  existed. 

Meanwhile  Ray  and  Richardson  were  obliged  to 
winter  at  Fort  Yukon;  their  steamers,  being  unable  to 
proceed  farther  owing  to  low  water,  landed  there  all 
their  Dawson  supplies.  Soon  a  situation  of  great 
gravity  arose  in  connection  with  some  five  hundred 
disappointed  gold  seekers,  fleeing  from  Dawson,  who 
arrived  at  Fort  Yukon  in  straggling  bands  and  found 
further  travel  impracticable. 

All  in  destitute  condition,  and  nearly  all  of  them 
without  money,  they  included  in  their  number  some  of 
the  most  desperate  men  of  the  North  ready  for  any 
enterprise.  Unscrupulous  leaders  obtained  possession 
of  many  of  the  guns,  and  conspired  to  seize  and  divide 
the  stores,  with  the  view  of  providing  amply  for  them 
selves  without  regard  to  the  commonweal. 

Ray  and  Richardson  were  alone,  without  a  single 
soldier,  but  they  acted  with  daring  promptness.  Ray 
hoisted  the  American  flag  over  the  two  depots  of  pro 
visions,  announced  that  he  took  possession  of  them  in 
the  name  of  the  United  States,  and  stated  that  they 
would  be  held  for  the  benefit  of  all  destitute  persons. 


40         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

An  organization  for  the  resolute  defence  of  the  stores 
was  formed,  and  the  battle  was  won.  Awed  by  the; 
firm  attitude  of  the  officers  and  by  this  display  of 
Federal  authority,  the  lawless  element  abandoned  their 
plans,  and  the  winter  passed  quietly. 

This  adjustment  of  a  serious  trouble  without  blood 
shed  was  the  forerunner  of  the  Army's  policy  during 
the  occupancy  of  the  Yukon  Valley  by  troops  under 
Richardson  at  Gibbon,  Rampart,  and  Circle  in  1898. 
Assuming  control  in  all  emergencies,  the  Army  ex 
tended  assistance,  afforded  relief,  discouraged  violence, 
and  when  absolutely  necessary  made  arrests  and 
administered  condign  justice. 

The  opening  of  the  Nome  placers  and  the  assembling 
there  of  some  18,000  adventurous  and  determined  men, 
naturally  led  to  difficult  situations.  In  the  absence  of 
courts,  of  law,  and  of  authorized  civil  government,  the 
settlement  of  disputed  points  of  current  and  financial 
importance  devolved  on  the  troops,  who  proved  equal 
to  the  occasion.  Disputes  involving  thousands  of 
dollars  were  promptly  decided  by  officers  and  the  de 
cisions  peacefully  accepted. 

The  most  striking  instance  of  Army  methods  in  the 
interests  of  order  was  that  displayed  by  a  young 
lieutenant.  Several  hundred  disappointed  and  idle 
gold  seekers  called  a  mass  meeting,  naturally  not  at 
tended  by  the  busy  miners,  for  the  understood  purpose 
of  vacating  all  miners'  locations  and  throwing  them 
open  to  the  first — or  in  this  case  to  the  last — comers;  a 
procedure  that  was  certain  to  result  in  a  miners'  war. 
When  the  discussion  ended  and  the  resolution  was  to 


THE    ARMY    IN    ALASKA          41 

be  put,  the  resolute  and  clear-headed  lieutenant,  Oliver 
L.  Spaulding,  Jr.,  declared  the  meeting  adjourned  and 
dispersed  the  assembly  with  his  squad  of  only  seven 
soldiers.  This  ended  claim-jumping  by  mass  meeting. 

Under  such  emergencies  the  Army  continued  its 
alert  and  supervisory  control  over  affairs,  until  Con 
gress  passed  the  Alaskan  Civil  Code  and  established 
courts  at  Nome  and  on  the  Yukon  in  1900.  This 
unauthorized  exercise  of  general  police  authority  over 
interior  and  western  Alaska  was  not  only  accepted  as 
indispensable  for  the  security  of  person  and  property, 
but  was  also  viewed  as  fully  justified  by  the  law  of  the 
frontier.  Moreover,  it  was  so  impartially  and  judi 
ciously  administered  as  to  give  almost  universal  satis 
faction,  and,  indeed,  a  desire  for  a  return  of  military 
sway  was  not  infrequently  heard  during  the  first  un 
fortunate  and  stormy  year  of  jurisdiction  of  the  Fed 
eral  court  at  Nome. 

Commercially  the  greatest  service  rendered  Alaska  by 
the  Army,  was  the  construction  and  operation  of  a 
military  telegraphic  service,  open  to  private  telegrams, 
which  brings  every  important  business  interest  of  the 
Territory  in  connection  with  the  world.  The  system 
aggregates  about  4,500  miles  at  present,  and  extends 
from  Seattle  via  Sitka,  Skagway,  and  Valdez  to  Nome 
in  the  west  and  to  Eagle  on  the  Canadian  frontier  in 
the  east.  (See  Chapter  XXVII.)  These  lines  are  due 
to  the  acumen  of  Secretary  of  War  Root  in  approving 
the  plans  and  securing  the  money,  especially  for  the 
Seattle-Skagway  cable;  to  General  G.  M.  Randall  for 
urging  the  system  and  very  greatly  facilitating  con- 


42         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

struction  work  by  the  line  of  the  Army,  and  to  the 
activities  and  energy  of  the  men  and  officers  of  the 
Signal  Corps,  of  which  the  writer  was  the  Chief,  during 
the  four  critical  years  of  construction  and  installation. 
This  system  has  made  modern  Alaska  possible,  as 
without  it  not  one-quarter  of  the  present  business  could 
be  satisfactorily  and  economically  done.  The  extent 
and  importance  of  the  service  may  be  judged  from  the 
fact  that  the  tariffs  on  private  telegrams  amount  to 
about  $250,000  annually,  while  government  telegrams 
amount  to  at  least  $100,000  additional  in  tariff  value. 
(See  Chapter  XXVII.) 

The  invaluable  services  rendered  by  the  Army  road 
commission  are  considered  in  Chapter  IV. 

In  exploration  the  Army  began  early  and  did  much. 
Raymond  fixed  the  boundary  line  of  the  upper  Yukon 
in  1868,  which  checked  Canadian  aggression  and  caused 
the  abandonment  of  Fort  Yukon.  He  also  made  a 
valuable  map  of  the  Yukon  Valley,  having  determined 
astronomically  several  points  therein.  Ray  during  his 
notable  service  at  Point  Barrow  discovered  the  Endi- 
cott  Mountains  in  1882,  and  the  next  year  Schwatka 
traced  and  mapped  the  Yukon  from  its  source  to  the 
sea.  Later  Abercrombie  and  Glenn  did  work  of  im 
portance  with  Prince  William  Sound  and  Cook  Inlet  as 
their  bases.  Of  geographic  work  done  by  the  Army, 
Brooks  states  that  the  expedition  of  Lieutenant  H.  T. 
Allen,  from  March  to  September,  1885,  "was  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  in  the  annals  of  Alaskan  explora 
tions,"  being  provided  with  few  men,  an  inadequate 
equipment,  and  at  times  in  a  half-starved  condition,  as 


Roliei 


ALASKA 


TELEGRAPH    AND    CABLE    LINES 

constructed  bythe  Signal    Corps     U.S.A. 


Br£  General  A.W.GR  L  C  LY,    Chief  Signal  Officer  U.S.A. 


jor  GEORGE    R   SCR  I VCN,  Signal  Corps  USA 
1904 


BRITISH 
COLUMBIA 


Vska. 


THE    ARMY    IN    ALASKA          43 

they  were  dependent  on  the  country  for  food.    Brooks 
adds: 

No  man  through  his  own  explorations  has  added 
more  to  a  geographic  knowledge  of  interior  Alaska  than 
Lieutenant  Allen.  Throughout  his  journey  he  made 
careful  surveys  and  noted  all  facts  which  came  within 
his  observation;  and  writhin  one  season  he  made  maps 
of  three  of  the  larger  rivers  (Copper,  Tanana,  and 
Koyukuk)  of  the  Territory,  which,  until  accurate  sur 
veys  were  made  twelve  years  later,  were  the  basis  of 
all  maps.  His  reports  are  the  work  of  a  careful,  pains 
taking  observer. 

The  forces  of  the  army  now  in  Alaska  consist  of  one 
regiment  of  infantry  and  one  company  of  the  Signal 
Corps.  Two  companies  of  infantry  are  stationed  at 
each  post,  namely:  Fort  Davis,  at  Nome ;  Fort  Egbert, 
at  Eagle;  Fort  Gibbon,  at  Tanana;  Fort  Liscum,  near 
Valdez;  Fort  St.  Michael,  on  St.  Michael  Island;  and 
Fort  William  H.  Seward,  at  Haines,  near  Skagway. 
The  men  of  the  Signal  Corps  are  in  charge  of  the  widely 
distributed  telegraph  stations,  from  Nome  to  Skagway 
and  from  Sitka  to  Eagle. 

Duty  in  Alaska  is  confining  and  restricted  to  the 
post,  except  that  done  along  the  military  telegraph 
system.  While  it  is  monotonous  and  irksome,  it  has 
been  performed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  elicit  general 
commendation  from  the  inhabitants.  Under  the  law  the 
army  has  unique  and  embarrassing  duties  devolved  on  it, 
as  in  Alaska  (and  nowhere  else)  it  is  subject  to  the  call  of 
the  governor  (or  courts)  as  a  posse  comitatus;  again,  offi 
cers  of  the  army  are  liable  to  jury  duty,  and  have  even 
been  summoned  to  either  pay  or  work  out  a  road  tax. 


44        HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

On  several  occasions  in  recent  years  the  army  has 
been  ordered  to  quell  disturbances,  guard  property,  and 
protect  lives.  Fortunately  in  these  cases  of  labor 
strikes  and  of  civil  disturbances,  the  obligatory  and 
efficacious  services  of  the  army  have  been  free  from 
measures  of  violence. 

In  season  and  out  of  season,  the  officers  of  the  army 
have  proclaimed  the  obligations  of  the  United  States 
toward  the  natives  of  Alaska;  and  in  default  of  an 
authorized  system  and  in  the  absence  of  civil  officials 
have  assumed  the  difficult  task  of  conserving,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  interests  and  rights  of  the  natives.  (See 
Chapter  XX.) 

BIBLIOGRAPHY.— Annual  Reports  Commanding  General,  Depart 
ment  of  Columbia,  1869-1878,  1889-1908.  Compilation  of  Narratives 
of  Explorations  in  Alaska.  Fifty-eighth  Congress,  1st  Session,  Sen 
ate  Report,  No.  1,023,  1900. 


CHAPTER  VI 
AGRICULTURE,  FORESTRY,  AND  RESERVATIONS 

As  on  other  points,  there  have  been  advanced  optimistic 
and  pessimistic  views  on  the  possibilities  of  successful 
agriculture  in  Alaska.  On  this  subject  various  official 
reports  and  many  verbal  statements  have  been  con 
sidered,  which  are  supplemented  by  personal  observa 
tions  over  a  great  variety  and  extent  of  country. 

Agriculture  as  a  whole  is  valuable  in  Alaska  solely 
for  the  purpose  of  supplying  the  local  market,  and  that 
in  part  only.  There  are  a  few  successful  farmers,  all 
in  well-chosen  localities  in  the  vicinity  of  towns  of 
considerable  size.  On  the  outlying  islands,  such  as 
Baranof  (Sitka),  and  at  Kenai,  grain  is  a  failure  except 
when  cut  for  hay.  At  Sitka,  while  potatoes  do  well 
for  some  years  they  fall  off  in  size  and  quality,  and 
other  vegetables  are  only  raised  with  care  and  in 
favorable  seasons.  At  Kenai  the  cattle  live  exclusively 
on  the  native  grasses,  which  are  sweet  and  nutritious. 
Butter  and  cheese  are  there  made,  but  the  demand  is 
not  equal  to  the  supply.  Stock  raising  is  practicable 
to  a  limited  extent  on  the  southwestern  islands. 

As  one  enters  the  valleys  of  southern  Alaska,  from 
Cook  Inlet  or  Prince  William  Sound,  the  agricultural 
possibilities  materially  improve.  Potatoes  and  other 
vegetables  do  well,  but  as  a  rule  grains  fail  to  ripen  and 

45 


46         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

are  valuable  for  stock  only.  In  the  interior  forage 
costs  from  twenty  cents  a  pound  upward,  and  is  sold 
by  the  ton  f.  o.  b.  at  prices  ranging  from  six  to  twelve 
cents  per  pound,  so  that  in  some  localities  such  crops 
pay  largely. 

As  one  goes  north  in  Copper  Valley  conditions  are 
more  favorable  for  vegetables  and  native  hay,  and 
quite  a  number  of  good  gardens  or  small  farms  are  now 
cultivated,  some  as  homesteads.  The  growing  season, 
six  months  or  more  in  the  islands  and  in  the  inlets  of 
southeastern  Alaska,  decreases  to  five  months  at 
Skagway,  and  is  about  four  in  the  interior  valleys. 
Although  the  period  between  killing  frosts  in  the 
interior  is  considerably  shorter  than  in  the  islands 
(Sitka,  etc.),  yet  in  the  northern  valleys  there  is  not 
only  much  more  sun,  but  there  is  also  a  much  greater 
summer  heat,  due  to  the  longer  hours  of  sunlight,  less 
cloudiness,  and  dryer  atmosphere. 

While  the  Seward  Peninsula  and  the  Arctic  coast 
have  no  agricultural  possibilities,  yet  considerable  parts 
of  the  Yukon  basin  are  suitable  for  gardening  to  a 
degree  astonishing  to  the  uninformed.  The  best-known 
instance  of  successful  farming  is  that  at  the  Holy 
Cross  Mission,  on  the  Yukon,  in  62°  N.  Here  cattle 
have  been  raised  for  ten  years  or  more,  and  the  products 
of  the  forty  acres  of  land  under  cultivation  excite  sur 
prise  in  every  visitor.  All  through  the  valley  of  the 
Yukon  potatoes  and  other  vegetables  mature,  when 
proper  ground  is  chosen  and  skilled  attention  given. 

At  Fort  Gibbon,  at  the  junction  of  the  Yukon  and  the 
Tanana,  and  at  Fort  Egbert,  on  the  international 


I 


m  -~— 


\ 


:iii 

:*3% 


AGRICULTURE  AND  FORESTRY  47 

boundary  near  the  Arctic  Circle,  the  military  garrisons 
have  raised  large  quantities  of  vegetables,  potatoes 
being  especially  successful.  Even  in  the  Koyukuk  Val 
ley  similar  conditions  obtain,  and  at  Coldfoot,  within 
the  Arctic  Circle  at  68°  N.,  potatoes,  cabbages,  turnips, 
rhubarb,  etc.,  are  grown  of  large  size  and  good  flavor. 

Truck  gardening  and  hay  farming  are  flourishing 
industries  in  the  lower  Tanana  Valley,  where  it  is 
claimed  that  30,000  acres  of  land  have  been  home- 
steaded.  While  grain  will  ripen  only  under  favor 
able  conditions,  potatoes  with  other  vegetables  do 
very  well,  and  the  native  and  selected  foreign  grasses 
are  productive  of  good  crops.  With  baled  hay  at  $80 
to  $100  per  ton  and  imported  potatoes  costing  from 
6  to  8  cents  per  pound,  the  Alaskan  gardener  has  a 
stimulus  of  certain  profit. 

That  the  productivity  of  Alaskan  agriculture  is  im 
portant  both  in  quantity  and  in  value  is  clearly  indi 
cated  by  the  diminution  in  the  shipment  of  potatoes 
from  the  United  States  to  Alaska,  which  dropped  from 
211,215  bushels  in  1906  to  167,033  bushels  in  1908. 
Meanwhile,  the  values  of  all  vegetable  shipments  fell 
from  $696,928  to  $483,855,  a  decrease  of  more  than 
thirty  per  cent.  During  the  same  period  the  quantity 
of  imported  hay  fell  from  10,405  tons  to  9,165  tons, 
though  the  number  of  stock  increased. 

At  Rampart,  on  the  Yukon  just  south  of  the  Arctic 
Circle,  is  located  an  experimental  station  under  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture.  Grain  has 
there  ripened  six  consecutive  years,  four  kinds  of 
winter  grains  living  and  maturing,  though  the  winter 


48         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

temperatures  touched  — 70°.  Potatoes,  cabbage,  peas, 
etc.,  all  thrive  without  much  care. 

As  to  berries,  nearly  the  whole  Territory  produces 
numerous  edible  varieties,  which  for  size,  color,  and 
flavor  are  unsurpassed. 

Flowers  of  great  variety  and  exquisite  beauty  seem 
to  spring  up  everywhere  in  the  short  summer.  John 
Burroughs  writes :  "At  the  mountain's  [St.  Elias]  base 
the  columbine,  rock-loving  as  at  home,  but  larger  and 
coarser  flowered,  was  in  bloom,  and  blue  violets  could 
be  gathered  by  the  handful.  Back  of  the  encampment 
[Yakutat  Bay]  were  acres  of  lupines  just  bursting  into 
flower.  At  Orca  wild  flowers — yellow,  white,  pink, 
purple — were  everywhere.  Such  flowers  as  we  gath 
ered!  The  colors  were  all  deep  and  intense." 

FORESTS 

The  importance  of  conserving  the  forestal  wealth  of 
Alaska  was  promptly  recognized,  and  the  policy  of 
establishing  national  forests  has  been  adopted.  fThe 
Chugach  forest,  with  its  area  of  about  830  square  miles, 
includes  practically  all  the  valuable  timber  in  the 
Prince  William  Sound  region  and  on  Afognak  Island. 
The  larger  national  forest,  Tongass,  with  an  area  ex 
ceeding  1,000  square  miles,  is  situated  in  southeastern 
Alaska,  where  the  cedars  and  other  very  valuable  tim 
ber  of  the  mainland  and  Alexander  (or  Sitkan)  archi 
pelago  are  brought  under  national  control.  It  includes 
the  mainland  south  of  Unuk  River,  Chichagof,  Kup- 
reanof,  Prince  of  Wales,  and  adjacent  Islands.  While 
timber  from  these  forests  cannot  be  exported  from 


f   § 

c  ± 


l! 


JS 


m 


AGRICULTURE  AND  FORESTRY  49 

Alaska,  yet  the  regulations  permit  local  lumbering 
under  liberal  terms  as  to  price  and  utilization. 

The  ordinary  tourist  who  visits  the  Sitkan  archi 
pelago  gains  an  exaggerated  idea  of  the  value  of  the 
Alaskan  forests,  while  the  miner  of  the  practically  tree 
less  Nome  region  is  equally  ill-informed  as  to  Alaskan 
woodlands. 

The  treeless  wastes  are  the  Aleutian  Islands,  the 
south  half  of  the  Alaska  Peninsula,  the  Yukon  Delta, 
and  the  mouth  of  the  Kuskokwim,  the  west  half  of 
Seward  Peninsula,  and  the  coasts  for  a  hundred  miles 
inland  from  Bering  Strait  and  the  Arctic  Ocean. 
Excepting  the  glaciers  and  high  mountain  summits  the 
rest  of  Alaska  may  be  called  wooded. 

The  true  forest  with  valuable  timber  is  confined 
almost  exclusively  to  southeastern  Alaska,  and  to  the 
immediate  coast  region  from  Yakutat  Bay  westward  to 
Alaska  Peninsula.  As  one  travels  north  from  Seattle 
the  conditions  change  slowly  in  British  Columbia,  and 
along  the  Alaskan  coast  to  Yakutat  Bay.  The  forest 
consists  very  largely  of  hemlocks  (coast  and  alpine) 
and  spruce,  with  considerable  elder,  willows,  and  cot- 
tonwoods,  some  yellow  cedar,  a  sprinkling  of  red  cedar, 
and  probably  a  few  other  straggling  species.  The 
scanty  depth  of  soil  often  distorts  the  tree's  growth,  so 
that  it  makes  inferior  lumber,  though  spruces  are 
occasionally  found  that  are  from  five  to  six  feet  in 
diameter  and  upward  of  150  feet  in  height.  In  the 
Prince  William  Sound  region  the  other  species  gradu 
ally  fall,  the  hemlock  last,  leaving  the  spruce  dominant 
and  almost  alone  from  Cook  Inlet  to  the  westward. 


50 


HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 


A  well-known  writer,  in  a  misleading  and  erroneous 
article,  has  lately  said: 

Alaska  is  the  great  timber  reserve  of  the  continent. 
Trees  of  such  size  and  commercial  value  exist  nowheie 
else  in  such  numbers  and  extensive  areas. 


„«. ' «.•>'   Sparsely  timbered  area 
^  Area  above  timber 


MAP   NO.  1 — DISTRIBUTION    OF    TIMBER    IN   THE   TANANA-YUKON   REGION 

The  sound  and  conservative  view  as  to  its  economic 
importance  is  set  forth  by  an  authority,  Professor 
Fernow,  who  writes: 

That  the  value  of  this  forest  resource  must  increase 
with  the  development  of  the  country  needs  allow  of  no 
doubt;  as  a  field  of  exploitation  under  present  eco 
nomic  conditions,  however,  it  does  not  offer  any  induce 
ments,  unless  it  be  that  the  spruce  could  be  turned  into 
paper  pulp. 


AGRICULTURE  AND  FORESTRY  51 

As  a  matter  of  practice  it  may  be  said  that  all  lumber 
for  permanent  use,  even  in  Alaskan  coast  regions,  is 
imported  from  Puget  Sound,  local  saw-mills  being 
unable  to  compete,  price  and  quality  being  considered. 

The  interior  of  Alaska  is  largely  wooded,  and  though 
the  spruce  is  the  most  numerous  species  there  are  large 
quantities  of  hemlock,  birch,  poplar,  cotton-wood  (or 
aspen),  alder,  and  willow.  The  Tanana  Valley  has 
almost  inexhaustible  supplies  of  poplar,  spruce,  hem 
lock,  and  birch,  and  in  the  lower  valley  considerable 
tamarack.  Thousands  upon  thousands  of  cords  of 
wood  are  transported  for  steamboat  fuel  from  the 
densely  wooded  shores  of  the  Tanana  to  the  barren 
Yukon  delta.  While  there  are  enormous  areas  densely 
wooded  in  the  Tanana  Valley,  yet  the  timber  near  the 
mining  camps  is  rapidly  disappearing.  The  interior 
limit  of  timber  elevation  is  unusually  high,  some  trees 
being  found  nearly  five  thousand  feet  above  the  sea. 

The  general  distribution  of  the  interior  forests  is 
along  rivers  and  adjacent  lowlands,  as  is  indicated  by 
the  accompanying  map  of  woodlands  in  the  Yukon- 
Tanana  region. 

While  there  is  considerable  timber  in  the  vicinity  of 
Fort  Gibbon,  in  the  central  Yukon  Valley,  yet  the  far 
greater  part  of  the  trees  are  of  very  moderate  size. 
Several  years  since  an  army  contractor  had  difficulty  in 
obtaining  within  seventy-five  miles  of  the  post  a  not 
very  large  number  of  sizable  logs. 

In  the  lake  region  between  Cook  Inlet  and  Bristol 
Bay  there  are  well-timbered  areas  with  considerable 
large  spruce,  some  said  to  be  over  three  feet  in  diameter. 


52         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

The  eastern  part  of  Seward  Peninsula  and  the  adjacent 
shores  of  Norton  Sound  are  fairly  covered  with  spruce. 
The  Kobuk  Valley  is  quite  heavily  timbered  with  birch 
and  cotton-wood,  and  Stoney  reports  large  spruces,  one 
being  sixty  feet  long  with  a  butt  diameter  of  sixte3n 
inches.  The  Susitna  is  well  timbered,  principally 
with  spruce.  The  Kanuti  Valley  also  has  considerable 
forest  areas,  as  well  as  the  Tozi  and  the  Koyukuk,  the 
latter  especially  in  the  lower  reaches  where  there  r,re 
many  large  trees.  The  Porcupine  has  a  dense  growth 
of  birch,  spruce,  and  cotton-wood.  On  the  arctic  slopes 
of  Endicott  Mountains  and  to  the  west  of  Colville 
River  there  is  much  timber,  though  of  stunted  growth 
and  rapidly  decreasing  toward  the  ocean. 

In  short,  there  are  few  extended  areas  in  the  interior 
of  Alaska  where  timber  fails  to  amply  meet  the  wants 
of  the  miner  or  settler. 

RESERVATIONS 

Under  Executive  Orders  there  have  been  established 
many  reservations  for  public  purposes,  of  which  the 
following  are  the  most  important.  The  War  Depart 
ment  controls  sites  for  military  posts,  for  military 
telegraph  stations,  and  as  fuel  reserves.  Among  these 
stations  are  Forts  Davis,  Egbert,  Gibbon,  Liscum,  St. 
Michael,  and  William  H.  Seward:  also  about  thirty 
telegraph  offices,  and  a  telegraph  right  of  way  between 
Valdez  and  Nome.  The  Navy  Department  has  KLska 
Island,  and  naval  grounds  at  Sitka.  The  Light-House 
Board  controls  certain  lands  for  occupancy  for  light 
houses  and  their  keepers.  The  United  States  Bureau 


RESERVATIONS  53 

of  Fisheries  has  a  sea-otter  reserve  on  Afognak  Island, 
and  the  Bureau  of  Education  a  reindeer  station  on  St. 
Lawrence  Island.  The  Department  of  Agriculture  in 
addition  to  experimental  stations  at  Sitka;  Fairbanks, 
Kodiak,  and  Rampart  for  developing  the  agricultural 
possibilities  of  Alaska,  also  controls  certain  reservations 
for  the  preservation  of  mammals  and  birds.  The  moose 
reserve  is  on  Fire  Island,  Cook  Inlet,  and  the  bird 
reserves  are  at  St.  Lazaria  Island,  Sitka  Harbor; 
Bering  Sea — Hall  and  St.  Matthew  Islands;  Tuxedni — 
Chisick  and  Egg  Islands,  Cook  Inlet ;  Bogoslof — Bogos- 
lof  and  Grewingk  Islands;  Pribilof — Walrus  and  Otter 
Islands;  and  the  Yukon  Delta — Nelson  Island,  and  the 
tundra  between  the  Yukon  and  Kuskokwim,  west  of 
162°  20'  W.  The  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Labor  controls  the  fur-seal  reservation  of  the  Pribilof 
Islands.  Under  the  Act  of  March  3,  1891,  Annette 
Island,  was  set  aside  for  the  Metlakatlas  and  other 
allied  natives. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — Georgeson:  Alaska  Agricultural  Experiment  Sta 
tions;  Bulletins  1-8.  Fernow:  Forests  of  Alaska  (Harriman  Alaska 
Expedition,  Vol.  II). 


CHAPTER  VII 
MINING  IN  GENERAL— GOLD,  COPPER,  AND  COAL 

IN  connection  with  the  mining  industries  of  Alaska, 
very  brief  though  inadequate  allusion  is  made  to  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey,  both  on  account  of 
its  intimate  relations  with  mineral  products  and  also 
for  its  invaluable  labors  in  the  interests  of  the  Territory. 
Its  able  officials  have  made  geologic  reconnoissances  in 
Alaska  covering  about  100,000  square  miles,  topo 
graphic  surveys  of  about  120,000  square  miles,  and 
hydrographic  studies  covering  some  2,500  square  miles. 
The  results  of  such  surveys  have  been  incorporated  in 
fifty  or  more  separate  publications,  which  cover  the 
subjects  and  areas  under  consideration  with  such 
fulness,  practicality,  and  accuracy  as  to  elicit  the  high 
est  commendation.  These  volumes  have  been  most 
beneficial  to  the  mining  public,  and  are  invaluable  to 
all  Alaskan  interests.  It  may  be  added  that  practically 
all  the  data  now  discussed  have  been  drawn  from  the 
official  publications  of  the  Geological  Survey. 

While  the  importance  of  mining  in  Alaska  is  well 
known,  its  great  extent  is  illustrated  by  the  following 
statement  of  Mr.  A.  H.  Brooks,  an  acknowledged 
authority: 

It  is  estimated  that  during  1908  there  were  about  770 
productive  placer  mines  in  Alaska,  employing  about 

54 


MINING    IN    GENERAL  55 

4,400  men.  In  the  same  year  there  were  12  auriferous 
lode  mines  and  9  copper  mines  on  a  productive  basis, 
giving  employment  to  about  2,000  men.  In  addition 
there  were  probably  about  4,000  men  engaged  in  pros 
pecting  and  in  dead  work  in  connection  with  mining 
enterprises. 

Alaska  is  the  latest  region  to  enter  the  list  of  mineral- 
producing  countries  of  the  world.  It  is  but  seventeen 
years  since,  in  1892,  Alaska  excited  a  faint  and  transi 
tory  interest  by  passing  the  million-dollar  mark  in  gold 
productivity.  When  in  1900  the  despised  Seward 
Peninsula,  which  in  1899  contributed  only  three  per 
cent,  of  the  Territory's  mineral  output,  produced  by 
itself  more  gold  than  all  Alaska  had  yielded  the  year 
preceding,  the  world  turned  its  attention  for  a  moment 
from  South  Africa  and  the  Klondike  to  the  barren 
shores  of  Bering  Sea  and  its  wondrous  wealth  of  golden 
sands.  A  similar  diversion  of  interest  occurred  when 
the  gold  production  of  the  Yukon  basin  (the  Fair 
banks  district)  more  than  quintupled  from  $1,300,000 
in  1904  to  §6,900,000  in  1905. 

In  speaking  of  the  mineral  resources  of  Alaska,  one 
has  in  mind  only  the  gold  production,  as  the  output 
(in  round  numbers)  of  $148,000,000  from  1880  to  1908 
inclusive,  consisted  of  $142,000,000  gold  as  against 
$4,100,000  (less  than  three  per  cent,  of  the  total)  in 
copper,  $1,150,000  in  silver,  and  less  than  half  a  million 
of  dollars  in  coal,  tin,  marble,  and  gypsum. 

The  following  figures  show  the  more  important  in 
creases  in  the  total  mineral  output  for  various  years: 
1890,  $2,585,575;  1899,  $5,703,076;  1900,  $8,238,294; 


56         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

1904,  $9,567,535;  1905,  $16,478,142;  1906,  $23,375,- 
008;  1907,  $20,887,055;  and  1908  $19,929,800. 

The  earliest  gold  production  recorded  was  in  1880, 
$20,000,  from  the  Juneau  region,  which  district  held 
the  supremacy  until  its  yield  of  $2,152,000  in  1899  wan 
surpassed  that  year  by  the  Seward  (Nome)  Peninsula's 
output  of  $2,800,000.  Nome  gave  way  in  1905  to  the 
Yukon  Basin  (Fairbanks)  yield  of  $6,900,000,  which 
district  has  since  held  the  palm.  The  annual  gold  pro 
duction  of  the  four  great  districts  from  1880  to  1908 
included  is  shown  in  Table  3. 

The  copper  mines  of  Alaska  are  in  their  initiator}' 
stage  of  development,  the  only  productive  operations 
being  confined  to  Prince  of  Wales  Island  and  Prince 
William  Sound.  The  extension  of  railway  facilities  up 
the  Copper  Valley  in  1908  opens  up  the  valuable  and 
extensive  deposits  of  the  Kotsina-Chitina  region. 
Within  the  next  few  years  the  copper  production  will 
very  largely  increase. 

The  coal  deposits  of  Alaska  are  extensive,  wide 
spread,  and  of  very  great  value,  there  being  known  coal 
fields  of  an  area  of  12,600  square  miles.  To  prevent 
monopoly  President  Roosevelt  withdrew  coal  lands 
from  location  and  by  regulations  of  April  12,  1907, 
authorized  entries  in  limited  quantities. 

On  this  subject  the  Commissioner  of  the  General 
Land  Office  says: 

These  withdrawals  were  occasioned  by  the  widespread 
belief  that  public  coal  lands  were  being  improvidently 
disposed  of,  and  that  they  were  even  falling  into  the 
ownership  of  corporations  able  to  control  the  output 
of  the  mines  and  fix  their  own  prices  on  the  product. 


I 


!! 


111 


^ynr  l  •  ;>'« 


MINING    IN    GENERAL  57 

To  the  present  time  the  amount  of  the  coal  mined  in 
Alaska  has  been  nominal,  the  output  of  1897,  with  its 
value  of  $28,000,  being  the  maximum.  Mines  are 
worked  for  local  use  on  Alaska  and  Seward  peninsulas 
and  at  Bering  Lake.  The  important  coal  veins  of  the 
Controller  Bay  region  are  in  process  of  development, 
and  much  prospecting  has  been  done  in  the  promising 
Matanuska  coal  belt.  Although  lignite  is  mined  and 
largely  used  on  the  Canadian  Yukon,  yet  it  has  been 
neglected  on  the  Alaskan  River  and  displaced  by  oil. 
The  extensive  and  high-grade  coal  deposits  of  the 
Controller  Bay  and  Matanuska  fields  are  without 
reasonable  doubt  destined  to  furnish  fuel  for  the  entire 
Pacific  coast  region. 

The  petroleum  fields  of  Cook  Inlet  and  Controller  Bay 
are  practically  in  the  non-productive  stage  of  develop 
ment,  though  the  Katalla  wells  furnish  petroleum  fuel 
for  local  construction  work  in  that  region. 

Deposits  of  antimony,  graphite,  iron,  quicksilver,  and 
tungsten  have  been  found,  but  as  yet  not  in  such 
quantities  or  under  such  conditions  as  to  make  their 
development  profitable. 

The  tin  mines  of  Seward  Peninsula  are  still  in 
process  of  development,  there  being  but  two  mines  in 
operation,  with  a  maximum  output  of  $38,640  in 
1906. 

In  1906  the  placers  yielded  84  per  cent,  of  the  gold, 
and  the  gold  silicious  ores  16  per  cent.;  the  copper-ore 
production  was  only  four-tenths  of  one  per  cent.  In 
1908  the  preliminary  statement  of  the  United  States 
Geological  Survey  shows  a  marked  change,  though 
possibly  of  a  temporary  duration,  since  the  production 


58         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

from  the  gold  silicious  ores  had  risen  to  19  per  cent.,  and 
that  of  the  placers  correspondingly  decreased. 

Interior  mining  is  done  under  great  disadvantages 
of  severe  climate,  short  season  (about  four  months 
each  year),  costly  transportation,  insufficient  water, 
expensive  fuel,  frozen  ground,  and  uncertain  la 
bor.  These  adverse  conditions  particularly  affect 
placer  mining,  which  produces  about  85  per  cent,  of 
the  gold  output.  Along  the  southeastern  coast, 
however,  where  transportation  is  rapid,  freights  low, 
and  fuel  comparitively  cheap,  mining  operations  are 
conducted  at  a  minimum  cost,  as  is  illustrated  later 
in  the  account  of  the  Treadwell  mines  (Chapter 
IX). 

The  costly,  elaborate  plants  which  are  found  in  all 
rich  placer  districts  make  Alaska  a  rich  man's  country. 
Bonanzas  are  exceedingly  rare,  and  to  an  increasing 
extent  the  product  comes  from  mines  operated  by  men 
of  considerable  capital.  In  general  the  cost  of  produc 
tion  is  double  what  it  is  in  the  United  States  proper. 
During  nearly  eight  months  of  the  long  winter  the 
demand  for  labor  is  very  greatly  reduced  in  the  Yukon 
Basin  and  on  Seward  Peninsula,  which  causes  thousands 
of  men  to  leave  each  autumn  for  the  " outside,"  with 
a  consequent  uncertainty  of  their  return  the  following 
season.  With  constantly  changing  force  and  the  neces 
sity  of  using  much  new  and  untrained  labor,  the 
situation  has  been  aggravated  in  some  years  by  labor 
strikes.  As  the  extended  journey  out  and  back  from 
Fairbanks  costs  about  $200,  and  entails  a  loss  of  time 
exceeding  a  month,  the  enhanced  cost  of  production  is 


MINING    IN    GENERAL  59 

obvious.    Mining  industries  in  southeastern  Alaska  are 
almost  entirely  free  from  these  disadvantages. 

Cheaper,  more  rapid  transportation,  and  less  costly 
fuel  are  the  two  great  needs  for  the  further  develop 
ment  of  placer  mining.  Coal  costs  about  a  cent  and  a 
half  per  pound  on  Seward  Peninsula,  and  at  Juneau  its 
price  has  risen  to  such  a  point  that  it  is  being  rapidly 
replaced  by  oil.  With  improved  conditions  and  re 
duced  rates  of  transportation  there  must  be  an  enor 
mous  increase  in  the  mineral  output  of  interior  Alaska, 
where  present  prices  are  prohibitory  of  any  mining, 
except  of  the  richest  ground. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — Mining  Industry  in  Alaska.  Bulletins,  United 
States  Geological  Survey;  1905,  No.  284;  1906,  No.  314;  1907,  No.  345; 
1908,  No.  379.  Brooks:  Mining  and  Mineral  Wealth  of  Alaska,  1909. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
KETCHIKAN  AND  WRANGELL  MINING  DISTRICTS 

MINING  interests  in  the  Wrangell  district  began  with 
the  opening  of  the  placer  workings  on  the  bars  of 
Stikine  River  in  1862,  but  they  did  not  assume  a  serious 
aspect  until  the  attention  of  the  world  was  drawn  to 
the  Klondike  discoveries  of  1896.  The  official  head 
quarters  of  the  district,  Fort  Wrangell,  for  nearly  a 
century  was  known  successively  as  a  Russian  station,  a 
Hudson  Bay  trading  post,  and  a  military  post  for 
United  States  troops.  With  a  population  of  nearly  one 
thousand,  including  natives,  its  local  lumber  and 
canning  industries  are  supplemented  by  its  trade  rela 
tions  with  the  Canadian  miners  in  the  Cassiar  district 
and  also  with  the  various  mineral  operations  in  adjacent 
American  camps.  Being  on  the  line  of  semi-weekly 
steamers  from  Seattle  to  Juneau,  it  is  the  natural  trans 
shipping  point  for  the  mines  tributary  to  the  Stikine 
River,  and  in  connection  therewith  a  river  steamer 
makes  regular  summer  trips  as  far  as  Telegraph  Creek, 
170  miles  up  the  Stikine. 

The  Wrangell  and  Ketchikan  mining  districts  are 
here  treated  together,  as  they  originally  formed  one 
district  and  were  divided  in  1901  by  order  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court,  in  order  to  facilitate  the 
transaction  of  business  connected  with  recent  mining 

60 


KETCHIKAN  AND  WRANGELL61 

developments  at  Ketchikan.  The  Wrangell  district 
has  as  its  northern  limits  Frederick  Sound  and  Chatham 
Strait,  while  the  Ketchikan  district  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  Sumner  Strait  and  Ernest  Sound  and  on  the 
south  by  the  international  boundary.  Two-thirds  of 
the  land  areas,  and  even  a  greater  portion  of  the  valu 
able  mineral  deposits  were  thus  transferred  to  the  new 
district,  which  is  now  the  more  important  of  the  two. 

Apart  from  its  mining  interests,  which  naturally 
centre  there  as  the  official  head-quarters,  Ketchikan  is 
an  incorporated  town  of  about  1,300  inhabitants,  with 
quite  extensive  business  interests.  It  is  by  law  the 
first  port  of  call  for  all  steamers  doing  business  with 
southeastern  Alaska,  which  are  required  to  here  make 
entry  of  cargo  and  passengers.  It  has  two  good 
hotels,  several  large  outfitting  stores,  canneries,  a  fish- 
plant,  saw-mills,  and  is  the  commercial  distributing 
point  for  adjacent  regions.  It  is  well  provided  with 
educational  and  religious  institutions;  has  waterworks, 
electric-light  plants,  telephonic  service,  and  other 
modern  equipment.  Picturesquely  located,  with  its 
famous  salmon  stream  and  forested  hills,  Ketchikan  is 
an  attractive  place.  Built  with  some  difficulty,  owing 
to  the  broken,  hilly  ground,  it  has  an  excellent  system 
of  board  walks  and  roads,  most  creditable  to  the  town. 
By  almost  daily  steamers  in  summer,  and  semi-weekly 
in  winter,  Seattle  is  reached  660  miles  to  the  south  and 
Juneau  240  miles  to  the  north.  Local  lines  of  steamers 
run  with  some  regularity  to  Port  Simpson,  up  the 
Skeena  River,  and  to  Prince  of  Wales  Island. 

The  Ketchikan  mining  district  comprises  Cleveland 


62         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

Peninsula,  the  mainland  between  Portland  and  Behm 
Canals,  the  important  islands  of  Prince  of  Wales  ana 
Revillagedo  (on  which  the  town  of  Ketchikan  is  situ 
ated),  and  contiguous  islets. 

The  most  valuable  ores  are  copper,  and  the  only 
copper-producing  mines  of  southeastern  Alaska  are  in 
this  district.  Before  1905  the  output,  with  by-products 
of  gold  and  silver,  aggregated  about  $200,000.  Ex 
tended  mining  operations  were  then  initiated  and  the 
values  reached  from  six  mines  $339,000  in  1905,  and 
from  ten  mines  $920,000  in  1906.  The  average  value 
per  ton  for  two  years  was  $10.80,  and  estimated  out 
put  $840,000  in  1907.  The  decrease  in  the  production 
for  1907  was  due  to  the  general  depression  in  copper 
trade  throughout  the  world,  which  rendered  the  mining 
of  low-grade  ores  unprofitable  in  Alaska,  as  elsewhere. 
The  general  richness  of  the  Alaskan  copper  mines, 
however,  stimulated  capitalists  to  extended  operations 
in  their  development  throughout  the  district.  In  all 
Alaska  fifteen  mines  made  shipments  of  copper  in  1907 
as  against  fourteen  in  1906,  ten  being  in  southeastern 
Alaska,  and  there  was  increased  activity  in  prospecting. 
Naturally  the  depression  of  the  autumn  of  1907  tempo 
rarily  closed  many  mines. 

The  centre  of  copper-mining  activity  is  Prince  of 
Wales  Island,  where  the  earliest  important  develop 
ments  were  on  the  west  coast,  at  or  near  Hetta  Inlet, 
in  the  Copper  Mountain,  Jumbo,  Red  Wing,  and  Corbin 
mines.  At  Copper  Mountain  a  250-ton  smelter  was 
constructed  and  operated,  while  long  tramways  and 
wharves  were  built  at  Niblack,  Skowl  Arm,  Karta  Bay, 


KETCHIKAN   AND   WRANGELL63 

Hetta  Inlet,  etc.  Saw-mills  and  shops  were  erected  and 
operations  were  usually  by  power,  steam,  or  water. 

Later  there  were  very  valuable  deposits  developed 
on  the  east  coast,  on  and  near  Kasaan  Peninsula,  for 
which  a  smelting  plant  of  350  tons  capacity  was  built 
and  operated  at  Hadley,  which  has  become  a  consider 
able  centre.  In  1907  there  were  thirty  or  more  copper 
mines  in  process  of  development  or  operation  on  Kasaan 
Peninsula,  which  had  become  the  principal  copper- 
producing  region  of  Alaska.  The  most  important  of 
the  developed  mines  are  those  operated  by  the  Brown- 
Alaska,  Hadley-Consolidated,  Mount  Andrew,  and  Rust 
and  Brown  mining  companies.  There  are  other  copper 
mines,  promising  or  producing,  on  or  adjoining  Karta 
and  Tolstoi  Bays,  Moira  Sound,  Skowl  Arm,  and  also  on 
Gravina  Island  opposite  Ketchikan. 

While  the  low  price  of  copper  caused  several  mines 
to  suspend  operations  during  1908,  yet  there  was  an 
output  of  about  2,000  short  tons  of  copper. 

The  ultimate  success  of  copper  mining  in  Alaska,  as 
indeed  elsewhere,  depends  on  large  preliminary  ex 
penditures  of  an  unproductive  character,  both  in  the 
mine  itself  and  also  in  necessary  plants.  Even  in  the 
richest  mine  dividends  are  the  outcome  of  judicious 
expenditures  and  of  an  able,  economical  administration. 

Regarding  silver,  lead,  and  zinc  it  may  be  briefly 
stated  that  they  are  not  plentiful  in  Ketchikan  or 
Wrangell  districts,  and  efforts  for  their  development 
have  been  hitherto  unprofitable. 

But  few  of  the  numerous  gold  prospects  in  Ketchikan 
district  have  developed  to  the  producing  stage.  Many 


64         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

are  at  present  unpromising,  as  profitable  working 
depends  very  largely  on  nearness  to  tide- water  to 
insure  cheap  transportation,  and  to  water-power  for 
economical  operation.  The  gold  ores  are  largely  free- 
milling,  and  are  most  advantageously  treated  in  stamp 
mills  by  amalgamation  and  reduction.  Lode  ores  are 
present  in  greater  quantity,  as  well  as  the  lower-grade 
vein  ores;  both  types  are  mined  with  profit  under 
skilled  and  economical  management.  Promising  gold 
prospects  have  been  located  at  Thorne  Arm,  George; 
Inlet,  Tongass  Narrows,  and  Kasaan  Bay,  while  small 
and  increasing  profits  are  being  made  at  favorable  mines 
on  Cleveland  Peninsula,  Revillagigedo,  and  Graving 
Islands. 

A  new  industry  of  southeastern  Alaska  pertains  to 
building  materials,  the  non-metallic  minerals  of  cement; 
gypsum,  clay,  and  granite  being  widely  distributed. 
Marble  quarries  have  been  located  and  opened  at 
various  points  on  Prince  of  Wales  Island,  though  very 
promising  deposits  are  elsewhere  in  process  of  exploita 
tion.  The  most  extensive  operations  have  been  made 
by  the  Alaska  Marble  Company,  whose  quarries  near 
Shakan  have  been  worked  since  1905.  They  have 
ample  installation  and  plant  in  the  shape  of  a  gravity 
railroad,  dressing  and  cutting  machinery,  with  suitable 
shipping  facilities.  The  importance  of  the  industry 
is  shown  by  the  increase  of  shipments  of  marble  and 
gypsum  from  $11,995  in  1906  to  $71,958  in  1907,  and 
yet  greater  in  1908. 

Not  only  are  the  deposits  most  extensive  in  distribu 
tion  and  practically  inexhaustible  in  quantity,  but  the 


KETCHIKAN   AND   WRANGELL65 

marble  is  of  the  best  quality.  It  is  free  from  silica  and 
flint,  takes  the  chisel  readily,  presents  a  beautiful  sur 
face,  and  has  an  average  crushing  strength  of  over  ten 
thousand  pounds.  The  main  deposits  are  of  three 
varieties,  pure  white,  light  blue,  and  white  with  blue 
veins,  some  of  the  colored  marbles  being  unexcelled  by 
the  finest  Italian  products. 

The  only  known  gypsum  deposit  is  that  of  Chichagof 
Island  which  is  largely  developed,  its  output  in  1906 
being  valued  at  §17,500. 

Granite  of  good  uniform  color  and  in  favorable  loca 
tion  has  been  noted,  but  its  development  is  not  yet 
attempted.  Mr.  Wright,  the  geologist,  estimates  that 
granite  can  be  quarried  in  the  Ketchikan  district  most 
reasonably,  while  the  freight  to  Puget  Sound  is  very 
moderate. 

In  general  it  may  be  said  that  the  future  of  mining 
in  the  Ketchikan  district,  especially  of  copper,  appears 
certain  of  steady  and  extensive  development.  While 
its  plants  are  necessarily  costly,  its  labor  uncertain,  and 
competition  threatening,  yet  the  availability  of  water 
power,  the  richness  of  the  deposits,  facility  of  working, 
and  cheapness  of  transportation  are  factors  that  should 
insure  its  continued  prosperity. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY.— Wright:  Ketchikan  and  Wrangell  Mining  Dis 
tricts;  Bulletin  347,  United  States  Geological  Survey.  Also,  Brooks: 
Bulletins  284,  315,  345. 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  JUNEAU  SECTION 

THE  oldest  American  settlement  in  Alaska  is  Juneau, 
and  it  has  the  most  evident  signs  of  that  perma 
nency  which  casual  visitors  are  fond  of  denying  to 
Alaskan  towns.  As  the  capital  of  the  Territory,  the 
metropolis  of  southeastern  Alaska,  and  the  centre  o? 
mining  operations,  Juneau  was  properly  named  for 
Joseph  Juneau,  whose  discriminating  eye  and  mining- 
skill  discovered  the  quartz  and  placer  riches  that  have 
made  this  region  famous. 

Dominated  by  Mount  Juneau,  against  whose  back 
ground  of  sheer  3,000  feet  the  town  is  outlined  as  seen 
from  the  sea,  the  capital  city  is  picturesque  and  inter 
esting.  The  adjacent  coasts  of  the  Alaskan  main 
land  are  so  steep  that  the  average  rise  from  the  sea  is 
about  one  foot  in  ten,  while  mountains  a  mile  high  are 
not  unusual  within  five  miles  of  the  ocean,  and  even 
nearer  in  extreme  cases.  Juneau  is  built  on  the  slope 
of  a  steep  mountain,  and  within  its  limits  there  cannot 
be  found  a  naturally  level  spot  100  feet  square.  Its 
prominent  court-house  is  perched  on  the  top  of  a 
high  hill.  The  streets  are  necessarily  winding  in  some 
places  and  in  others  rise  sharply  and  in  terraces,  one 
above  another.  The  roadways  are  plank-covered,  and 
many  vine-clad  or  flower-embowered  cottages  are 

66 


THE    JUNEAU    SECTION          67 

reached  by  gray-mossed  stairways.  Altogether  sight 
seeing  is  a  vigorous  and  necessary  exercise,  for  horses 
are  few  in  Juneau. 

With  good  hotels,  indifferent  variety  shows,  excellent 
restaurants,  well-stocked  curio  shops,  Indian  basket 
pedlers,  and  a  hospitable  community,  the  town  affords 
all  comforts  and  many  luxuries  to  visitors.  For  its 
residents  there  are  schools,  several  churches,  good 
markets  and  shops,  a  fine  water  supply,  electric  lights, 
an  efficient  telephone  service,  and  cable  connection  with 
Seattle. 

Moreover,  Juneau  is  the  commercial  and  supply 
centre  for  adjacent  mining  camps;  has  banks,  assay 
offices,  transportation  facilities,  hospitals,  and  other 
institutions.  Here  live  the  governor  and  other  Federal 
officials  for  the  transaction  of  judicial,  administrative, 
and  mining  business.  Two  daily  papers  keep  march 
with  the  world's  progress,  the  chamber  of  commerce 
discusses  trade  and  other  public  matters,  the  women 
assemble  in  their  clubs,  the  few  sick  (for  all  Alaska  is 
phenomenally  healthy)  are  well  cared  for  in  hospitals, 
the  children  are  in  well-taught  schools,  the  library  is 
fair,  and  the  community  is  hospitable,  orderly,  and 
enterprising.  In  ten  visits  there  have  been  experienced 
no  importunity  by  beggars,  no  affront  from  the  myth 
ical  border  ruffian,  and  no  offensive  drunken  scenes  or 
street  disorders.  In  short,  Juneau  is  a  well-governed, 
intelligent,  thriving,  self-respecting  town,  with  a  popu 
lation  varying  between  two  and  three  thousand — from 
summer  to  winter. 

In  addition  to  being  on  the  through  line  of  travel 


68         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

from  Seattle  to  Skagway  and  to  the  upper  Yukon, 
Juneau  is  the  point  of  departure  for  the  westward — to 
Yakutat,  Cordova,  Valdez,  Cook  Inlet,  Kodiak,  Una- 
laska,  and  in  summer  to  Bristol  Bay.  Adjacent  min 
ing  camps,  canneries,  etc.,  are  reached  by  local  steamers 
—all  travel  in  these  regions  being  by  water. 

The  Juneau  gold-bearing  areas  extend  along  the 
mainland  from  Port  Houghton  to  the  head  of  Lynn 
Canal,  and  include  the  outlying  islands,  such  as  Doug 
lass  and  Admiralty. 

The  Juneau  mining  industries  owe  their  birth  to 
placer  and  quartz  discoveries  made  by  Joe  Juneau  and 
by  Richard  Harris  in  1880,  the  first  ledge  located  being 
now  worked  by  the  Alaska- Juneau  Company  in  the 
Silver  Bow  region. 

LODE  MINING 

The  centre  of  quartz  mining  is  on  Douglas  Island, 
where  the  operations  of  the  famous  Treadwell  group  of 
mines  are  conducted.  The  great  Treadwell  mining 
plant,  with  one  exception  the  most  extensive  in  the 
world,  is  the  outgrowth  of  a  prospector's  location  in 
1881,  which  has  developed  a  mill  of  180  stamps  in  1887 
to  an  enormous  system  with  workshops,  concentrators, 
etc.,  and  880  stamps,  of  which  780  were  in  operation 
in  1907.  Nine-tenths  of  the  gold  production  in  south 
eastern  Alaska  is  from  Douglas  Island.  Of  the  five 
great  mines  on  Douglas  Island,  the  Alaska-Treadwell 
Company  own  the  Treadwell;  the  Alaska-Mexican 
Company  the  Mexican;  and  the  Alaska-United  Com 
pany  the  Ready  Bullion  and  Seven  Hundred  Foot,  the 


THE    JUNEAU    SECTION          69 

last  named  being  leased  to  the  Treadwell  Company. 
An  excellent  account  of  these  mines  is  to  be  found  in 
Curie's"  Gold  Mines  of  the  World,"  second  edition,  1902; 
while  a  valuable  treatise  on  the  methods  and  statistics, 
written  by  the  superintendent,  A.  H.  Kinzie,  has  been 
published  in  "  Transactions  of  the  American  Institute 
of  Mining  Engineering,"  Vol.  V,  p.  34. 

The  salient  and  interesting  features  of  the  Treadwell 
operations  are,  first,  their  practical  continuity,  day  and 
night,  every  day  in  the  year  except  Fourth  of  July  and 
Christmas;  and,  second,  that  the  material  is  low-grade 
ore  which  contains  on  an  average  in  late  years,  with 
much  very  low-grade  output,  only  a  little  over  two 
dollars  to  the  ton.  It  is  a  matter  of  interest  that  the 
lower  veins,  nearly  1,000  feet  below  the  sea  level,  pro 
duce  ore  that  is  practically  unchanged  in  its  milling 
value  from  the  upper  layers. 

The  ore  output  of  the  Treadwell  to  January  1,  1903, 
was  4,500,000  tons,  which  averaged  $4.02  gold  per  ton 
in  its  values.  The  production  to  January  1,  1906,  of 
the  Treadwell  mine  was  $17,359,811;  of  the  Alaska- 
Mexican  from  1894  to  1904,  inclusive,  $4,176,833;  of 
the  Ready  Bullion  and  Seven  Hundred  Foot,  1898-1904 
inclusive,  $3,222,184;  aggregating  $24,758,184.  The 
Treadwell  outputs  of  interest  are:  annual  average  of 
1891-1900,  $738,049,  ranging  from  $568,857  in  1898 
to  $1,153,367  in  1900;  average  1901-1905  inclusive, 
$1,520,354,  ranging  from  $860,736  in  1901  to  $2,007,482 
in  1905. 

In  1908  there  were  extensive  improvements  in  the 
Treadwell  mines,  which  materially  increased  its  annual 


70         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

output  and  reduced  the  unit  cost.    Labor  troubles 
were  adjusted,  the  Treadwell  mine  extended  to  the 
1,450-foot  level,  the  water-power  was  increased,  and  c>il 
replaced  coal  as  fuel. 
Of  these  mines  A.  C.  Spencer  says: 

The  mines  of  the  Treadwell  group  have  always  been 
the  only  great  producers  in  the  district,  and  the  methods 
of  mining  and  milling  here  employed  represent  about 
the  highest  possible  attainment  in  the  successful  work 
ing  of  low-grade  ores  under  conditions  which,  though 
favorable,  are  not  ideal. 

As  to  the  influence  of  the  methods  employed,  and 
their  extension  to  other  low-grade  lodes,  Brooks  adc  s: 

At  the  Treadwell  group  (long  an  object  lesson  as  a 
well-managed  enterprise)  the  average  cost  of  mining 
and  milling  is  now  about  $1.30  per  ton.  The  installa 
tion  of  hydro-electric  plants  in  a  region  of  such  extensive 
water-powers  will  do  much,  in  connection  with  the  low 
cost  of  transportation,  equable  climate,  abundance  of 
timber,  and  favorable  topography,  to  permit  the  ex 
ploitation  of  low-grade  ore  bodies  [whether  gold,  silver, 
or  copper]. 

From  60  to  75  per  cent,  of  the  ores  are  free-milling, 
the  gold  being  crushed  and  then  collected  by  mercurial 
methods;  the  balance  is  gathered  in  concentrates, 
assaying  from  $30  to  $50  per  ton,  and  sent  to  the 
Tacoma  smelter  for  reduction. 

Around  the  mines  have  grown  two  cities,  the  miners' 
town  of  Treadwell  and  the  commercial  town  of  Douglas 
City,  the  two  containing  between  three  and  four 
thousand  inhabitants.  A  regular  ferry  affords  easy 


THE    JUNEAU  SECTION          71 

transit  to  Juneau,  which  is  situated  five  miles  or  so 
away,  under  the  mountain  across  the  Gastineau  Chan 
nel.  The  mines  of  Douglas  Island  are  brilliantly 
lighted  by  electricity  and  its  towns  are  prosperous  and 
orderly.  The  miners  in  the  main  are  Scandinavians 
or  Finns,  wrhose  pay  ranges  from  $2.50  for  common 
laborers  to  $4  or  more  daily  for  skilled  miners. 

On  Gold  Creek,  near  Juneau,  lode  mining  has  been 
successfully  conducted  for  many  years,  and  the  out 
put  has  been  quite  large  each  year.  The  perma 
nent  success  of  such  enterprises  depends  on  large 
ore  bodies  rather  than  on  very  rich  ores.  Late  de 
velopments  in  the  Gold  Creek  region  justify  belief  in 
the  presence  there  of  very  extensive  veins.  The 
Ebner  Company  since  1881  has  gradually  increased 
its  installation  to  25  stamps.  The  Alaska- Juneau 
Company  worked  continuously  its  30  stamps  during 
the  seasons  of  1907  and  1908.  The  Alaska-Persever 
ance  Company,  which  has  lately  developed  great  bodies 
of  ore,  raised  its  installation  of  50  stamps  to  100 
stamps  in  1907,  and  notably  increased  its  output  in 
1908.  The  lode  deposit  was  uncovered  in  1908  to  the 
extent  of  1,500  feet  in  length,  varying  from  60  to  100 
feet  in  width. 

On  Sheep  Creek,  near  Juneau,  is  the  Silver  Queen 
group  of  mines,  which,  discovered  in  1887,  have  been 
brought  under  one  management.  With  a  30-stamp 
mill,  bucket  trams,  railway,  water-power,  etc.,  it  has 
been  a  steady  producer.  The  yield  to  the  close  of  1903 
was  placed  at  $465,000.  The  working  season,  May  1 
to  early  November,  depends  largely  on  snowfall  and 


72         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

water  supply.  Litigation,  so  common  in  Alaska,  has 
hindered  the  development  of  the  Gold  Creek  region. 

North  of  Juneau,  in  the  Lynn  Canal  region,  there  are 
many  lodes  located  and  under  development,  though 
slowly,  especially  in  Montana  and  Yankee  basins, 
Cowie,  McGinnis,  Windfall,  and  Salmon  Creeks.  At 
Peterson  Creek  a  2-stamp  mill  is  in  operation.  On 
Eagle  River  operations  have  been  steadily  continued, 
and  a  20-stamp  mill  was  continuously  working  during 
1907  and  1908.  In  the  Berner  Bay  region  most  mines 
are  tied  up  by  litigation,  but  the  Jualin  Mine  worked  its 
10-stamp  mill  during  1907,  and  had  produced  to  1907 
about  half  a  million  of  gold.  Even  larger  amounts 
have  been  yielded  by  the  Sherman  group  of  mines  in 
that  locality. 

South  of  Juneau  the  scattered  mines  are  largely  in 
the  development  stage — at  Holkham  Bay,  Limestone 
Inlet,  and  on  Admiralty  Island.  At  Snettisham  the 
installation  and  operation  of  a  5-stamp  mill  place  it  in 
the  productive  class. 

The  Sitka  District 

The  Sitkan  mines  are  in  a  separate  district,  but  are 
here  treated  owing  to  their  minor  importance  at  present. 
Several  gold  mines  have  been  operated  near  Sitka,  but 
only  the  DeGroff  Mine,  where  a  2-stamp  mill  is  now 
operated,  has  reached  the  producing  stage. 

Sitka  itself  is  most  interesting,  but  its  situation  on 
the  outer  edge  of  the  islands,  which  made  it  convenient 
to  Russia,  puts  it  at  a  disadvantage  with  other  Alaskan 
towns.  In  1867  it  was  the  capital  of  Alaska,  the  head- 


THE    JUNEAU    SECTION          73 

quarters  of  the  military  district  and  of  the  Treasury 
agents,  and  the  recognized  centre  of  Alaskan  interests. 
The  establishment  of  a  mission  with  school  and  hospital, 
the  location  of  an  agricultural  experiment  station,  its 
selection  as  the  diocesan  residence  of  Bishop  Howe,  and 
the  establishment  of  cable  communication,  all  added  to 
its  importance,  while  its  designation  as  a  naval  station, 
with  marine  garrison  and  coal  depot,  was  thought  to 
have  insured  its  prosperity.  Suffering  from  the  diver 
sion  of  trade,  it  is,  however,  gradually  losing  its  com 
mercial  importance. 

Neglected  though  it  be  by  trade,  Sitka  is  the  most 
interesting  Alaskan  town  for  tourists  from  the  south 
land.  It  is  reached  by  the  inland  passage  through 
winding  channels,  hedged  in  by  emerald  shores  and 
fascinating  islets  that  charm  every  lover  of  the  beauti 
ful  and  unusual. 

The  town  itself  has  a  striking  background  of  moun 
tains,  which  is  greatly  enhanced  in  attractiveness  under 
the  rays  of  the  not  too  frequent  summer  sun.  West 
ward  one  looks  on  a  landscape  made  beautiful  by  the 
graceful  blue  slopes  of  volcanic  Mount  Edgecumbe, 
especially  when  from  its  extinct  snow-filled  crater  there 
drift  down  alabaster  streaks  of  newly  fallen  snow,  or 
when  a  vanishing  storm  leaves  its  summit  adorned  by 
drifting  bannerets  of  fleecy  clouds. 

The  Bay  of  Sitka  can  scarce  be  equalled  for  scenery: 
in  fine  weather  for  its  mingled  softness  of  beauty  and 
rugged  picturesqueness,  or  on  dark  stormy  days  for  its 
stern  and  sombre  grandeur. 

On  shore  first  of  all  are  the  Indian  curio  women,  with 


74         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

varied  wealth  of  articles — quaint,  graceful,  and  origi 
nal,  or  harsh,  common,  and  barbaric,  as  runs  the  taste 
and  judgment  of  the  visitor. 

Sitka  Town  presents  few  structures  of  interest  beyond 
the  moss-covered  log  buildings  of  a  past  age  and  former 
regime  and  the  severely  simple  Greek  church.  Ex 
ternally  the  church  is  a  green-roofed,  bulbous-domed 
building,  with  a  clock-faced  tower  and  sharp  spire, 
attractive  as  a  novelty  to  most  tourists.  Its  interior 
and  the  furnishings  appeal  to  every  one  appreciative  of 
unusual  art  forms,  or  interested  in  either  the  method 
or  the  outcome  of  religious  systems.  To  one  class  ap 
peal  the  interior  arrangements — the  holy  of  holies,  the 
screens,  the  silver-cased  icons,  the  ancient  vestments 
wrought  of  cloth  of  gold,  and  the  artistic  silver  censers- 
all  enhanced  aBsthetically  by  the  external  and  surround 
ing  simplicity  of  the  building  itself.  In  contemplative 
and  susceptible  minds,  however,  rise  up  holy  memories 
of  the  Russian  priest  who  furnished  the  church,  Venia- 
minof,  the  combined  St.  Paul  and  St.  John  the  Baptist 
of  Alaskan  natives.  The  consideration  of  such  a  life 
of  consecration,  devotion,  and  self-sacrifice  is  a  benison 
to  any  soul. 

Turning  from  Russian  to  American  efforts,  the  road 
to  other  churches  and  to  the  Industrial  Training  School 
(see  Chapter  XXI)  winds  partly  by  the  shore  of  the 
bay  and  partly  by  shady  paths  along  Indian  River 
through  a  park  of  charm  and  beauty.  Indian  River 
Park  is  so  thoroughly  sylvan  and  so  unexpected  in  its 
aspects,  as  to  be  strikingly  impressive.  One  looks 
skyward  through  tangled  vistas  of  tall  dark  spruces, 


THE    JUNEAU    SECTION          75 

fragrant  yellow  cedars,  or  sombre,  graceful  pines,  and 
turns  his  eyes  earthward  to  enjoy  the  dense  flower- 
covered  sward  and  extended  patches  of  edible  berries, 
in  great  variety.  Meanwhile  the  ear  is  filled  with  the 
murmur  of  babbling  brook  or  by  sound  of  gentle  water 
fall,  and  gladdened  by  such  melodious  and  full  bird 
song  as  is  rarely  heard  elsewhere  in  Alaska.  Unfortu 
nate  the  Sitkan  tourist  who  has  not  been  there  favored 
by  bright  sun  and  these  other  delightful  experiences, 
for  he  fell  on  evil  days. 

PLACER  MINING 

Lode  mining  is  by  far  the  greatest  industry  of  south 
eastern  Alaska,  yet  the  day  of  placers  and  beach  wash 
ing  has  not  entirely  passed.  The  placers  of  Gold 
Creek,  which  flows  past  Juneau,  have  yielded  at  least 
$1,000,000  to  January  1,  1904,  and  the  end  is  not  yet. 
A  third  of  this  amount  came  from  the  Nowell  placers  in 
Silver  Bow  basin,  where  the  installation  of  a  hydraulic 
elevator  and  other  improvements  is  expected  largely  to 
increase  the  output. 

There  are  numerous  placer  claims  in  the  Juneau  gold 
belt  that  are  either  developing  slowly,  or  are  waiting 
for  enough  working  capital  to  install  modern  appliances. 
Among  these  may  be  mentioned  those  at  Holkham  and 
Windham  Bays,  Salmon,  Lemon,  Nugget,  McGinnis, 
Sheep  Creeks,  and  possibly  a  few  more,  neglecting  those 
that  have  been  worked  out  under  old  methods,  or  been 
temporarily  abandoned.  The  comparative  unimpor 
tance  of  placer  mining  in  southern  Alaska  is  shown  by 


76         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

the  output  for  1907,  $300,000  for  all  such  mines  from 
Ketchikan  to  Kodiak. 

It  should  be  added  that  placer  mining  is  undergoing 
a  marked  revolution,  progressing  from  the  early  crude 
methods,  and  by  hand  power,  to  the  more  effective 
application  of  well-equipped  plants,  operated  by  steam 
or  water  power.  Placer  mining  by  machinery  is,  how 
ever,  scarcely  less  complicated  and  uncertain  than  lode 
mining.  It  involves  a  thorough  knowledge  not  only 
of  the  difficulties  attendant  on  all  operations  in  Alaska, 
whether  of  climate,  transportation,  or  labor,  but  also 
as  to  existent  conditions  as  regards  ground  frost,  gold 
content,  unit  cost,  volume  of  alluvium,  location  of  pay 
streaks,  and  depth  of  placer.  It  is  beyond  question 
that  the  installation  of  expensive  plants  without  thor 
ough  preliminary  tests  as  to  these  factors,  accounts  for 
the  financial  failure  of  many  widely  heralded  and 
alluring  enterprises. 

Skagway  Region 

Placer  mining  is  here  in  the  process  of  development 
rather  than  in  a  profitable  producing  stage,  though  the 
Chilkat  drainage  basin  promises  well  on  Porcupine  and 
Nugget  Creeks.  Installations  have  lately  been  made 
on  the  Porcupine  to  work  systematically  the  extensive 
alluvial  deposits  that  are  known  to  exist  there. 

The  black  and  ruby  auriferous  beach  sands  of  the 
Alaskan  coasts  have  been  mined  with  moderate  success, 
and  on  a  small  scale  at  Lituya  Bay  and  at  Yaktag. 

According  to  Spencer,  the  mineral  deposits  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  Skagway  are  of  such  character 


THE    JUNEAU    SECTION          77 

as  to  offer,  at  present,  little  encouragement  for  their 
further  development. 

The  town  of  Skagway  (see  Chapter  XVII)  is  the  dis 
tributing  point  for  mining  operations  in  this  region, 
both  American  and  Canadian.  Besides  other  Federal 
offices,  the  Alaskan  Road  Commission  is  here  located. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — Spencer:  Juneau  Gold  Belt,  1906;  Bulletin  287, 
United  States  Geological  Survey.  (Also  Bulletins  315,  345.) 


CHAPTER  X 
NOME  AND  THE  SEWARD  PENINSULA 

WITH  the  word  Nome  nearly  every  American  associates 
the  idea  of  gold,  Alaskan  gold.  In  this  the  people  are 
right,  for  the  gold  production  of  Seward  Peninsula, 
the  general  name  given  to  the  Nome  region,  aggregated 
to  1908  the  enormous  sum  of  $50,000,000,  a  materially 
larger  output  than  any  other  Alaskan  district  has 
yielded  (see  Table  3).  Moreover,  it  is  of  interest  that 
the  earliest  discoveries  in  Council  district,  on  Ophir 
Creek,  and  in  Nome,  on  Anvil  Creek,  yet  hold  their  own 
as  the  largest  producers.  Indeed,  they  have  yielded 
three-fourths  of  the  gold  values  of  Seward  Peninsula— 
as  shown  by  the  outputs  of  three  years,  1902-1904, 
$13,425,000,  of  which  nearly  sixty  per  cent,  came  from 
the  Nome  district  and  nineteen  per  cent,  from  Council. 

The  details  connected  with  the  increase  of  the  gold 
output  from  $75,000  in  1898,  to  $2,800,000  the  follow 
ing  year,  and  the  growth  in  a  single  season  of  a  mining 
camp  of  a  few  score  men  into  a  mushroom  town  of 
18,000  or  more,  are  not  parts  of  this  book,  though  the 
author  was  a  Nome  visitor  in  the  fateful  year  of  1900. 

Indeed,  it  would  take  volumes  to  tell  the  story,  with 
its  countless  incidents  whose  true  and  graphic  portrayal 
would  exceed  in  thrilling  interest  the  wildest  romance 
of  the  age.  Among  these  were  the  scheme  of  late 

78 


NOME   AND   SEWARD   PENINSULA  79 

comers  to  overthrow  by  vote  in  mass-meeting  all 
claims  located  by  their  fortunate  predecessors;  the 
active  jumping  of  claims;  the  disputing  of  locations; 
the  despair  of  thousands  of  hungry,  disappointed  men; 
the  epidemic  of  typhoid;  the  home  shipment  of  in- 
digents;  the  impracticable  mining  machinery;  the 
speculative  schemes;  the  gold-brick  mining  companies; 
the  camp  dissipations;  the  displacement  of  the  natives; 
the  astounding  discovery  of  the  golden  sands  of  the 
beach;  the  judicial  system  of  receiverships  with  conse 
quent  ejectment  of  original  owners  and  of  their  machin 
ery  from  fabulously  rich  claims.  These  and  more  are 
parts  of  a  history  alternately  comic  and  tragic,  corrupt 
and  straightforward,  generous  and  hateful,  disorderly 
and  law-abiding.  The  sterling  qualities  of  the  Amer 
ican  miner  were  never  displayed  to  greater  advantage 
than  in  the  development  and  transition  of  Nome  into  a 
successful  and  permanent  mining  district,  with  so 
little  of  cruelty,  dishonesty,  and  crime,  at  a  minimum 
cost  of  human  life  and  suffering. 

PLACER  MINING 

Seward  Peninsula  is  especially  a  region  of  placer 
mining,  though  the  successful  auriferous  lode  mining 
on  Solomon  River  since  1903,  and  other  favorable 
locations,  points  to  successful  lode  exploitation  on  a 
large  scale.  Many  think  that  Seward  Peninsula  is 
gold-bearing  through  its  entire  extent,  not  realizing 
that  its  area  is  about  22,700  square  miles — larger  than 
the  combined  extent  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts, 


80         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

and  Rhode  Island.  It  is  already  known  that  the  area 
of  auriferous  gravels  in  the  peninsula  includes  at  least 
210  square  miles,  equal  to  the  entire  placers  of  Cali 
fornia.  Of  this  immense  Alaskan  gold-bearing  area 
only  a  small  part  has  been  thoroughly  exploited,  so 
that  its  gold  possibilities  must  be  enormously  great. 

From  1901  to  1905  inclusive,  the  total  productivity 
of  Seward  Peninsula  amounted  to  $22,555,000,  dis 
tributed  as  follows:  Winter  drift,  $2,050,000;  Nome 
precinct,  $13,620,000;  Council  precinct,  $4,100,000; 
Kougarok,  $640,000;  Fairhaven,  $825,000;  all  other 
mines,  $1,120,000.  The  very  rich  placers  found  on  the 
so-called  third  beach  line  raised  the  yield  of  1906  tc 
$7,500,000,  and  $7,000,000  in  1907.  Their  partial  ex 
haustion  caused  the  Seward  production  to  fall  to 
$5,100,000  in  1908. 

Brooks  on  the  subject  of  permanent  development  re 
marks  : 

The  first  years  were  given  to  skimming  the  cream 
from  some  of  the  richest  creeks.  Such  operations  have 
been  of  little  permanent  benefit  to  the  district.  No 
placer  camp  whose  output  is  derived  solely  from  bonan 
zas  ever  has  had  or  can  have  a  long  successful  history. 

Far-sighted  and  experienced  men  realized  that,  by 
the  installation  of  proper  equipment,  a  reduction  of 
costs  was  possible,  which  would  make  available  for 
mining  the  large  deposits  of  auriferous  gravels  carrying 
lower  values. 

Brooks  estimates  the  total  productivity  at  values 
ranging  from  $250,000,000  to  $325,000,000  for  the 
placer  mines  only,  and  that  the  process  of  production 


NOME  AND   SEWARD   PENINSULA  81 

will,  at  the  present  rate,  last  from  twenty-five  to  forty 
years.     Summing  up,  he  writes: 

These  speculations  as  to  the  life  of  the  placers  of 
Seward  Peninsula  are  too  indefinite  to  have  much 
value,  but  they  suggest  at  least  that  the  gold  production 
will  probably  increase  rather  slowly  and  that  the  out 
look  is  favorable  for  a  long  period  of  rather  uniform 
output. 

Methods  and  conditions  have  radically  changed  since 
the  pioneer  days  of  1899.  Instead  of  earning  from 
$1  to  $1.50  per  hour  for  work  with  pick  and  shovel, 
men  are  now  content  with  $5  to  $6  per  day  and  board. 
Coastal  freight  has  been  reduced  from  about  $20  per 
ton  each  hundred  miles  to  half  that  amount,  and  over 
land  transportation  has  fallen  from  a  cent  a  pound  per 
mile  to  one-third  that  amount  under  favorable  condi 
tions.  With  increasing  mileage  of  railways  freight  runs 
from  $2  to  $3  per  ton  each  mile,  and  is  sometimes  even 
less. 

All  placers  are  not  rich  and  the  gold  is  usually  fine, 
though  nuggets  are  occasionally  found — the  largest, 
weighing  182  ounces,  valued  at  $3,285,  being  from 
Anvil  Creek. 

Under  sluice-box  and  shovel  methods,  ground  pro 
ducing  less  than  $1  per  cubic  foot  could  not  be  profit 
ably  worked.  In  consequence  modern  methods  have 
introduced  the  dredge,  scrapers,  steam  shovels,  griz 
zlies,  steam  thawers,  hydraulic  elevators,  and  pumping 
plants.  By  such  appliances  ground  producing  25  cents 
per  cubic  foot  can  be  worked,  if  in  quantities. 

The  gold-bearing  area  of  Seward  Peninsula  is  divided 


82 


HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 


into  five  principal  mining  districts:  Nome,  Council, 
Fairhaven,  Kougarok,  and  Port  Clarence,  shown  by 
the  accompanying  map. 

Nome  District 

Nome  City  is  the  commercial  centre  of  Nome  district, 
which  includes  the  southwestern  part  of  the  peninsula. 


Shishmarer 


Precinct  Recording-  offic* 


Cape  Horn* 
IT  O  K  TOtt 


MAP   NO.  2 — MINING   PRECINCTS   OF   SEWARD   PENINSULA 

The  most  astonishing  yield  of  this  region  was  from 
the  ruby  beach  sands,  which  in  two  years  produced 
gold  to  the  value  of  $2,000,000.  The  richest  placers 
have  been  those  of  Anvil  Creek,  which,  yet  pro 
ductive,  had  an  output  of  more  than  $6,000,000  up  to 
1905.  Of  this  more  than  $1,000,000  came  from  an 
area  one-tenth  of  a  mile  square.  Very  rich  placers 


NOME  AND   SEWARD  PENINSULA  83 

were  found  on  the  three  beach  lines,  two  ancient  beaches 
being  far  from  the  sea,  each  producing  several  millions 
of  dollars.  These  deposits  have  been  worked  as  to 
their  richest  ground,  but  with  more  economical  methods 
both  the  beach  sands  and  the  beach  lines  will  yet  yield 
largely  when  again  worked  over. 

Council  District 

The  Council  district,  including  the  southeastern  part 
of  the  peninsula,  centres  in  Council,  which  is  reached 
by  rail  and  road.  The  railroad  from  Solomon  (Dick- 
son)  extends  to  Penelope  Creek,  distant  about  thirty 
miles  from  Council,  on  the  Niukluk  River.  While 
Nome  is  in  untimbered  country,  Council  is  in  a  region 
of  spruce  forests.  The  richest  placers  are  those  of 
Ophir  Creek,  to  the  north,  which  are  reached  by  the 
Wild  Goose  Railway,  seven  miles  in  length.  With  its 
tributaries,  the  Ophir  has  yielded  nearly  $5,000,000 
of  gold.  The  Council  district  stands  second  to  Nome 
only  in  its  aggregate  output,  but  in  1908,  owing  partly 
to  lack  of  water  and  partly  through  exhaustion  of  cer 
tain  placers,  it  fell  to  the  third  place  in  annual  pro 
ductivity,  Fairhaven  taking  the  second  place. 

Council  City  is  a  thriving  place  of  nearly  600  in 
habitants,  with  schools,  two  churches,  stores,  etc. 

The  most  successful  lode  mine  in  northern  Alaska  is 
in  this  district,  the  Big  Hurrah,  on  a  creek  of  that  name. 
It  produces  a  free-milling  ore  of  paying  quality,  operates 
20  stamps,  puts  out  some  70  tons  of  ore  a  day,  and 
has  been  developed  to  the  depth  of  200  feet  with  ore 


84         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

still  in  sight.    Its  productivity  has  been  temporarily 
stopped  owing  to  legal  complications  regarding  it. 

The  Omilak  silver  mine  on  Fish  River  proves  the 
existence  of  paying  ore  with  its  output,  which  is 
claimed  to  be  over  $100,000  to  1908. 

Port  Clarence  District 

Port  Clarence  district,  the  largest  in  area,  includc-s 
the  northwestern  peninsula.  The  only  deep-water 
harbor  of  Seward  Peninsula  is  at  Teller,  the  commercial 
centre  of  the  district,  where  the  first  reindeer  station 
was  established.  The  principal  gold-producing  placers 
are  on  Bering  and  Bluestone  Creeks  and  Gold  Run, 
with  their  tributaries. 

To  many  this  district  is  known  through  the  tin  mines 
of  Cape  York  and  Lost  River.  The  developments  of 
the  tin  lodes  and  placers  are  generally  in  the  prospecting 
stage.  Lost  River  is  the  only  lode  that  has  uncovered 
any  considerable  tonnage  of  ore.  The  greater  part  of 
Alaskan  tin,  which  to  1908  scarcely  exceeded  $100,000 
in  value,  has  so  far  come  from  the  placers  of  Bush 
Creek.  While  a  small  output  of  tin  ore  still  continues 
and  the  prospects  are  promising  as  to  quality  and 
quantity,  yet  the  decreased  price  of  tin  retards  develop 
ments  until  higher  prices  or  more  economic  methods  of 
working  obtain. 

Kougarok  District 

The  Kougarok,  the  great  interior  district  east  of 
Port  Clarence,  has  steadily  increased  in  importance,  its 
initial  output  of  $50,000  in  1900  rising  steadily  each 


NOME   AND   SEWARD   PENINSULA  85 

year  to  $200,000  in  1905,  and  probably  $700,000  in 
1907.  Igloo,  called  locally  Mary's  Igloo,  is  the  com 
mercial  centre  of  the  district,  which  covers  the  water 
shed  of  the  Kougarok  and  its  tributaries,  of  which 
Dahl  Creek  is  the  richest.  Boats  from  Port  Clarence 
are  able  to  ascend  Mary  River  to  Davidson,  which 
point  can  be  reached  by  rail  from  Nome  as  far  as  the 
Kuzitrin  River. 

Fairhaven  District 

Fairhaven  district,  with  an  area  of  7,500  square  miles, 
lies  to  the  south  of  Kotzebue  Sound,  along  which  it 
extends  from  Goodhope  Bay  to  the  east  about  150 
miles.  It  is  reached  via  Bering  Strait  and  the  Arctic 
Ocean  during  the  short  open  season,  from  the  middle  of 
July  to  early  October.  Distant  150  miles  from  Nome, 
it  is  also  attainable  by  long,  costly  travel  and  freight 
overland  from  the  end  of  the  railways.  The  output  of 
the  district  to  1904  was  $700,000.  High  freight,  costly 
fuel,  short  season,  and  scant  water  have  made  it  un 
profitable  to  work  any  but  the  richest  ground.  The 
production  has,  however,  steadily  increased,  and  in 
1908  amounted  to  about  $750,000,  being  second  only  to 
Nome  in  its  yield.  There  are  three  centres  of  produc 
tion — on  the  Inmachuk,  of  which  Deering  is  the  com 
mercial  centre,  and  on  the  Kiwalik,  where  the  Candle 
Creek  placers  and  the  town  of  Candle  are  well  known. 
A  third  promising  region  has  been  lately  developed  on 
Goodhope  River  farther  to  the  west. 

In  late  years  there  have  been  material  changes  to  the 
benefit  of  the  district  as  a  whole.  Bench  gravels  are 


86         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

being  worked,  the  lignitic  coal  deposits  have  proved  to 
be  most  valuable  for  fuel,  while  the  introduction  of 
water  from  Lake  Imuruk  into  the  placers  of  the 
Inmachuck  has  added  materially  to  the  output. 
Systematic  and  careful  examination  of  the  Fairhaven 
country  is  in  progress,  and  its  further  successful  de 
velopment  appears  most  probable.  The  most  im 
portant  project  at  present  is  the  utilization  of  the 
lignitic  coals  of  Chicago  Creek,  Kugruk  River,  with  a 
view  of  furnishing  cheap  power  for  pumping  water  and 
other  operations  of  placer  mining.  At  present  there 
is  no  such  installation  anywhere  on  Seward  Peninsula. 

The  Goodhope  precinct  includes  the  northwest  pc  n- 
insula  to  the  west  of  Goodhope  Bay.  Reached  only 
by  small  boats  from  Shishmaref  Inlet  or  by  long  over 
land  travel  from  the  Kougarok,  its  difficulty  of  access 
and  high  cost  of  supplies  forbid  the  exploitation  of  any 
but  very  rich  claims.  Developments  so  far  have  been 
in  the  watershed  of  the  Serpentine  River. 

The  Koyuk  precinct,  to  the  extreme  southeast,  is 
in  the  prospecting  stage,  copper  lodes  on  the  upper 
Koyuk  being  unfavorably  located  for  economical  de 
velopment  under  existing  conditions. 

Mining  Ditches 

Adverse  conditions  attendant  on  small  rainfall, 
ranging  from  15  to  30  inches  annually  in  various  parts 
of  Seward  Peninsula,  soon  made  evident  the  neces 
sity  of  ditches  to  obtain  water  for  sluicing  and  other 
mining  operations.  To  remedy  matters  there  have 
been  built  a  large  number  of  ditches,  which  have 


NOME   AND   SEWARD   PENINSULAS? 

proved  of  great  benefit,  though  some  were  injudiciously 
located  and  expensively  constructed.  Several  millions 
of  dollars  have  been  invested  in  these  enterprises, 
which  number  several  score,  great  and  small.  The 
most  expensive  and  extensive  ditches  are  as  follows: 
The  Wild  Goose  Ditch,  with  pipe  lines,  91  miles,  de 
livers  Pargon  River  water  on  Ophir  Creek.  It  is  the 
largest  ditch,  carries  boats  of  size,  is  10  feet  wide,  3.17- 
foot  grade  per  mile,  has  13,000  feet  fluming,  and 
delivers  6,000  miner's  inches  of  water.  Bonanza- 
California,  50  miles,  delivers  4,500  inches.  Miocene, 
with  branches  68  miles :  it  delivers  3,000  miner's  inches 
of  water,  carrying  it  through  a  tunnel  1,835  feet  long, 
and  through  two  inverted  siphons  of  40-inch  pipe. 
Fairhaven,  40  miles.  Pioneer,  38  miles,  4,000  inches. 
Flambeau  River,  29  miles,  4,000  inches.  Candle,  34 
miles.  Cedric,  19  miles,  2,700  inches  carried  at  an 
elevation  of  870  feet,  the  highest  on  the  peninsula. 

Up  to  1904  the  ditches  had  cost  nearly  $2,000,000, 
and  there  were  in  operation  175  miles,  probably  300 
at  present.  These  ditches  are  in  active  use  a  little 
over  three  months  annually,  opening  on  the  average 
about  June  26  and  closing  about  October  5. 

COAL  FIELDS 

The  coal  beds  of  Seward  Peninsula,  though  in  work 
able  quantities  in  several  localities,  have  not  such 
quality  as  to  displace  imported  coal.  The  local  beds 
have  been  pecuniarily  valuable  only  in  the  Fairhaven 
district,  where  the  Kugrug  lignites  have  become  an 
important  factor  in  placer  mining.  This  coal  is  lignitic, 


88         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

is  frozen  solid,  checks  and  crumbles  on  exposure ;  how 
ever,  it  burns  readily,  leaves  little  ash,  and  has  a  fuel 
value  of  one-half  that  of  Wellington  coal.  To  the  north 
the  well-known  beds  near  Cape  Lisburne  are  of  local 
importance  only,  while  the  extensive  deposits  of 
Colville  River  are  of  doubtful  economic  value.  With 
Europe  exploiting  the  coal  beds  of  Spitzbergen  then} 
is,  however,  the  possibility  that  later  the  deposits  of 
extreme  northern  Alaska  may  supplement  the  southern 
Alaskan  coal  fields,  now  being  developed  on  Controller 
Bay  and  Mantanuska  River. 

In  the  eastern  part  of  Seward  Peninsula  there  is  a 
scattering  growth  of  spruce,  the  largest  trees  not 
exceeding  16  inches  in  diameter  and  50  feet  in  height. 
However,  the  steam  saw-mill  at  Council  has  been  able 
to  meet  local  demands  and  compete  with  imported 
lumber. 

Among  the  unexploited  fuel  resources  of  Seward 
Peninsula,  as  indeed  of  Alaska  in  general,  may  be 
mentioned  peat,  which  is  available  in  the  tundra 
regions  in  enormous  quantities.  As  yet  either  wood  or 
coal  is  the  more  economical  fuel,  but,  with  increasing 
demands  for  fuel  and  a  steady  decrease  in  the  supply  of 
wood,  the  development  of  a  peat  industry  is  not  im 
probable  in  northern  Alaska. 

OUTPUT  AND  SOURCE  OF  COAL 

Mr.  A.  H.  Brooks  estimates  the  value  of  the  placer- 
gold  production  of  Seward'  Peninsula  as  follows: 
1898,  $75,000;  1899,  $2,800,000;  1900,  $4,750,000; 
1901,  $4,130,000;  1902,  $4,561,800;  1903,  $4,465,600; 


NOME  AND   SEWARD  PENINSULA  89 

1904,  $4,164,600;   1905,  $4,800,000;   1906,  $7,500,000; 
1907,  about  $7,000,000;  1908,  about  $5,000,000. 
On  the  source  of  the  gold,  Mr.  F.  H.  Moffit  says: 

It  is  of  local  origin  and  is  a  concentration  from  the 
original  supply  widely  disseminated  in  small  quartz 
veins  and  stringers  and  impregnable  zones  of  the  bed 
rock.  This  is  shown  by  both  the  character  and  the 
occurrence  of  the  gold  itself.  The  gold  in  nearly  every 
case  has  travelled  but  a  relatively  short  distance  from 
its  original  source. 

Mr.  A.  H.  Brooks  says: 

The  chief  reason  why  more  rich  veins  are  not  found 
in  the  region  is  because  much  of  the  gold  was  widely 
disseminated  in  small  quartz  stringers  and  in  impreg 
nable  zones  of  the  bed  rock.  It  is  not  derived  from  a 
mother  lode,  but  in  the  course  of  the  destruction  of  the 
bed  rock  the  gold  thus  widely  disseminated  in  small 
veins  was  concentrated  in  sands  and  gravels. 

RAILWAYS 

The  several  railways  have  contributed  very  materi 
ally  to  the  development  of  the  mineral  resources  of  the 
peninsula;  indeed  much  work  would  have  been  im 
practicable  without  them.  In  not  very  recent  days, 
not  only  were  freight  rates  exceedingly  high — from  half 
a  cent  upward  per  pound  for  each  mile  across  tundra 
country — but  transportation  was  strictly  limited  and 
often  unattainable  at  any  price.  Mr.  Brooks  estimated 
that  in  1903  the  cost  of  summer  overland  transportation 
ranged  from  $10  to  $16  per  ton  per  mile,  and  the  cost 
of  water  transportation  between  coastal  points  from 


90         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

70  cents  to  $1.50  per  ton  per  mile,  including  the  em 
barking  and  disembarking.  These  prices  have  been 
(1908)  somewhat  lowered,  yet  they  are  still  prohibitive 
to  mining  anything  but  high-grade  placers. 

The  principal  railway  has  its  initial  point  at  Nome, 
where  almost  all  foreign  freight  for  the  peninsula  is 
landed.  The  railway  runs  north  through  the  valley  of 
Nome  River,  crosses  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Kruz- 
gamepa,  and  ends  at  Lanes  Landing  on  the  Kuzitrin. 
From  the  northern  terminal,  Dahl  Creek  and  the  Kou- 
garok  region  are  easily  reached  by  trail  to  the  north, 
while  Teller  is  attainable  by  boat  to  the  west. 

From  Dickson  (Solomon),  about  50  miles  east  of 
Nome,  a  railway  runs  north  through  Solomon  Valley 
and,  crossing  the  divide,  terminates  at  Penelope  Creek, 
whence  Council  is  reached  by  road  down  the  valleys  of 
the  Casadegapa  and  Niukluk.  Council  itself  is  in  direct 
communication  with  the  great  Ophir  placers  by  the 
Wild  Goose  Railroad,  7  miles  long. 

NOME  CITY 

There  is  not  much  to  be  said  of  Nome  City  beyond 
the  statement  that  it  has  all  the  modern  comforts  and 
most  of  the  luxuries  for  physical  well-being,  with  amuse 
ments  and  social  pleasures  pertaining  to  a  wealthy, 
intelligent  community.  Springing  into  existence  as  a 
city  of  18,000,  it  now  numbers  about  4,000  in  winter 
and  double  that  number  of  inhabitants  when  the  arctic 
sun  of  June  gives  it  the  glory  of  continuous  daylight. 
It  is  the  commercial,  judicial,  and  educational  centre 


NOME  AND   SEWARD   PENINSULA  91 

of  Nome  Peninsula.  In  summer  it  is  eight  days  from 
Seattle  by  semiweekly  steamers,  and  in  winter  from 
thirty  to  forty  days,  through  steamer,  sleigh,  and 
sledge,  via  Valdez,  Fairbanks,  and  Fort  Gibbon. 
Churches,  schools,  societies — all  are  as  good  as  gold 
can  command  and  good  fellowship  produce. 

There  are  churches,  libraries,  banks,  assay  offices, 
clubs,  electric  light,  theatres,  hot-houses,  etc.  Nome 
is  in  communication  by  land  lines,  wireless,  and  cable 
with  Seattle,  and  by  long-distance  telephone  over  a 
system  of  several  hundred  miles  with  Teller  on  Bering 
Strait,  Kougarok,  Council,  and  other  towns.  Railways 
run  summer  and  winter,  supplemented  by  stage,  horse, 
or  even  automobile  transportation  to  more  remote 
points.  There  are  excellent  schools  with  over  200 
pupils,  while  three  newspapers  are  filled  with  local 
and  foreign  news.  Life  is  intense  in  its  business 
activities  during  the  two  or  three  summer  months 
when  stars  are  never  visible.  With  the  approach  of 
winter  several  thousands  go  "outside,"  while  the  re 
maining  " sourdoughs"  settle  down  to  a  restful  life  of 
sociability  and  pleasure.  The  theatres,  dancing  clubs, 
ski  parties,  and  other  social  amusements  brighten  the 
long  arctic  semidarkness  for  the  town  residents. 

Winter  freighting  proceeds  across  the  frozen  tundra, 
the  best  time  for  handling  much  of  the  summer  freight 
from  Seattle,  which  aggregates  about  100,000  tons 
yearly.  Illustrative  of  the  amount  of  business  done 
is  the  fact  that  at  Nome  a  lumber  firm  usually  has  about 
5,000,000  feet  of  stock  on  hand,  all  imported  from 
Puget  Sound. 


92         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 


How  Nome  is  Reached 

There  is  frequent  steamer  service  between  Seattle 
and  Nome,  the  first  boat  reaching  Nome,  in  a  voyage 
from  eight  to  ten  days,  about  June  15,  and  the  last  boat 
leaving  there  about  October  15.  The  distance  is  about 
2,741  miles.  The  approximate  fares  are  $75  to  $100 
for  first-class  and  $35  for  steerage.  Travel  in  and  out 
for  the  rest  of  the  year  is  overland  by  dog  sled  to  Fort 
Gibbon  and  thence  by  stage  to  Fairbanks  and  Valdez, 
with  which  port  there  is  weekly  winter  service  by 
Seattle  steamers.  The  through  fare  ranges  between 
$500  and  $800,  according  to  accommodations,  and  the 
time  is  from  thirty  to  forty-five  days.  Summer  com 
munication  from  Nome  with  the  Yukon  and  Tanana 
Valley  is  via  St.  Michael,  115  miles  distant,  from  which 
point  boats  run  irregularly  up  the  Yukon,  leaving  from 
June  20  to  September  20,  and  arriving  from  June  10  to 
September  30. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY.— Bulletins  U.  S.  Geological  Survey:  No.  229,  Collier: 
Tin  Deposits  of  York  Region  (also  Bulletin  No.  259).  No.  247,  Moffit: 
Fairhaven  Gold  Placers.  No.  284,  Moffit:  Gold  Mining  on  Seward 
Peninsula;  Hess:  York  Tin  Region.  No.  314,  Brooks:  Kougarok 
Region;  Moffit:  Nome  Region.  No.  328,  Brooks,  Collier,  Hess,  and 
Smith:  Gold  Placers  of  Parts  of  Seward  Peninsula. 


CHAPTER  XI 
THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  YUKON 

THE  Yukon  River  has  rendered  possible  the  exploita 
tion  of  the  mineral  resources  of  the  interior  of  Alaska 
through  its  wondrous  facilities  for  cheap  and  reliable 
transportation.  The  river  and  its  tributaries  are  navi 
gable  by  steamboats  nearly  3,000  miles,  with  as  much 
more  additional  water  channels  that  are  traversed  by 
poling  boats.  There  is  not  a  mining  camp  in  all  the 
great  watershed  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Yukon  that  is 
100  miles  distant  from  navigable  water.  The  length 
of  the  navigable  season  of  the  Yukon  is  surprising, 
considering  its  high  latitude.  At  Circle,  near  the  Arctic 
Circle,  in  nine  years  the  Yukon  opened  between  May  11 
and  22,  while  it  does  not  close  until  early  November. 

The  borders  of  the  great  river  furnish  scanty  results 
to  the  gold  seeker,  while  the  few  placer-paying  tribu 
taries  flow  from  the  south,  the  ice-clad  flanks  of  the 
high  Alaskan  range  being  more  prolific  of  gold  than  the 
lower  mountains  to  the  north. 

The  principal  settlements  in  the  Yukon  Valley  merit 
brief  allusions.  Eagle,  a  town  of  about  200,  near  the 
Canadian  boundary,  is  the  customs  office  for  the  region, 
and  a  trade  centre  for  Fortymile  and  other  camps. 
It  adjoins  Fort  Egbert,  garrisoned  by  two  companies 
of  Infantry. 

93 


94         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

Fort  Yukon,  in  67°  N.,  145°  W.,  is  an  old  trading 
post,  around  which  cluster  a  few  native  settlements. 

Circle,  a  town  of  a  few  hundred,  on  the  Yukon,  south 
of  the  Arctic  Circle,  is  the  supply  centre  for  the  Birch 
Creek  mines. 

Rampart  with  its  population  of  about  400,  is  the 
trade  centre  for  the  Minook  mining  regions  to  the 
south.  It  has  an  agricultural  experiment  station, 
which  has  been  very  successful  in  its  crops  of  vege 
tables  and  hardy  cereals. 

Tanana  is  a  small  town  opposite  the  mouth  of  the 
Tanana  River,  and  all  boats  in  and  out  that  stream 
stop  at  Tanana.  It  has  also  been  called  Weare.  Ad 
joining  Tanana  is  Fort  Gibbon,  garrisoned  by  two 
companies  of  Infantry  and  a  company  of  the  Signal 
Corps.  About  two  miles  distant,  up  the  Yukon,  is  the 
St.  James  Episcopal  Mission. 

Nulato,  an  Indian  settlement  of  about  300,  is  an  old 
centre  of  trading.  It  is  occupied  also  by  the  St.  Peter 
Catholic  Mission.  There  are  three  other  missions  in 
the  lower  Yukon,  the  Holy  Cross  (Jesuit),  the  Anvik 
(Episcopalian),  and  Ikogmut  (Russian),  mentioned  in 
Chapter  XXI. 

In  the  Koyukuk  Valley  is  Coldfoot,  a  mining  camp 
100  miles  above  Settles.  The  latter  within  the  Arctic 
Circle,  being  the  head  of  navigation,  is  the  centre  of 
supplies  for  the  Koyukuk  mining  camps. 

The  few  productive  gold  placers  that  have  been  dis 
covered  in  the  basins  of  the  minor  tributaries  of  the 
Yukon  are  here  briefly  described. 

The  Fortymile  precinct,  in  which  was  found  the 


VALLEY    OF    THE    YUKON       95 

first  of  the  Yukon  gold-producing  placers,  has  an  area 
of  about  2,000  square  miles  and  is  intersected  by  the 
International  Boundary,  so  that  part  lies  in  Alaska  and 
part  in  Canada.  Mining  has  been  done  under  many 
adverse  conditions,  owing  to  the  very  short  season — a 
little  over  four  months — difficult  access,  and  harassing 
customs  regulations.  The  greater  part  of  the  district 
is  in  Alaska,  but  the  mouth  of  the  Fortymile  River  is 
in  Canada,  so  that  all  supplies  carried  in  by  river  are 
subject  to  customs  regulations.  Besides,  the  naviga 
tion  of  Fortymile  River,  by  poling  boats  only,  is 
hard  and  dangerous.  The  production  has  steadily 
fallen  off  from  §307,000  in  1904  to  $140,000  in  1907. 
The  introduction  of  dredges  and  the  construction  of  a 
government  road  from  Eagle,  wholly  within  American 
territory,  are  expected  to  increase  the  output.  To  the 
north  of  this  district  there  are  a  few  small  placers  in 
basins  near  Eagle,  such  as  Seventymile  and  American, 
which  produce  a  few  thousand  dollars  annually. 

Gold-producing  placers  have  been  developed  about 
100  miles  up  the  Chandlar  River,  which  are  reached  by 
steamer.  This  region  is  mainly  in  the  prospective  stage 
as  yet. 

A  most  promising  region  is  that  tributary  to  Circle, 
though  its  development  has  been  slow  owing  to  ex 
pensive  methods,  lack  of  communication,  and  high 
prices;  the  latter  due  to  lack  of  roads,  which  has  raised 
freight  to  12  cents  per  pound,  or  more,  per  100  miles. 
Despite  these  drawbacks  the  Birch  Creek  district  pro 
duced  from  1898  to  1904  an  aggregate  of  $3,560,000. 
These  mines  have  been  developed  entirely  without  out- 


96        HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

side  capital,  but  lately  capital  has  become  interested 
so  that  the  output  will  be  largely  increased  through 
the  modern  machinery  lately  installed.  The  basins  of 
Mammoth  and  Mastodon  Creeks  have  produced  nearly 
sixty  per  cent,  of  all  the  gold  up  to  1906.  The  intro 
duction  of  wireless  telegraphy  at  Circle  and  the  construc 
tion  of  roads  by  the  Alaska  Road  Commission  are  greatly 
facilitating  business  and  reducing  the  cost  of  freight. 

Rampart  is  the  commercial  centre  of  the  mines  in  the 
basins  of  Minook,  Glenn,  and  Baker  Creeks,  which  have 
an  annual  production  of  about  $300,000.  The  con 
struction  of  roads,  both  Federal  and  private,  and  the 
introduction  of  modern  machinery  promise  to  largely 
increase  the  output  of  this  region,  which  is  steadily 
growing  in  importance. 

Several  creeks,  Columbo,  Ruby,  etc.,  are  in  the  pros 
pecting  stage  between  Fort  Gibbon  and  the  mouth  of 
the  Koyukuk. 

Important  gold  discoveries  have  been  made  on  the 
upper  Innoko,  the  largest  easterly  tributary  of  the 
lower  Yukon.  The  two  centres  of  production  are  the 
Detna  River  and  Gains  Creek,  which  are  respectively 
250  and  400  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Innoko. 
Steamboats  can  run  up  the  Innoko  200  miles  to  Deeka- 
kat,  an  Indian  village  about  50  miles  below  the  Detna 
placers.  Gains  Creek  is  difficult  of  access,  and  the 
freight  poled  up  from  Deekakat  is  most  expensive — in 
the  early  days  $400  per  ton  from  Nome. 

The  gold  placers  of  the  Koyukuk  Valley  have  been 
mined  since  1899,  and  have  been  moderately  successful 
in  their  output,  which  averages  about  $125,000  annu- 


VALLEY    OF    THE    YUKON       97 

ally.  The  richest  placers  are  more  than  600  miles 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Koyukuk,  which  is  navigated 
irregularly  two  or  three  times  a  year  as  far  as  Settles, 
500  miles,  whence  freight  is  taken  to  Coldfoot,  100 
miles  further,  by  poling  boat  in  summer  and  by  sled  in 
winter.  The  last  steamboat  comes  out  of  the  Koyukuk 
about  the  end  of  September.  The  very  short  open 
season,  the  long  winter  with  its  extreme  cold  and  pro 
longed  darkness,  make  mining  most  arduous  and  trying 
in  these  Koyukuk  camps,  of  which  one,  Nolan  Creek, 
within  the  Arctic  Circle,  is  said  to  be  the  most  northerly 
gold  placer  in  the  world.  Nevertheless,  the  output  has 
been  considerable,  the  greatest  producers  being  Emma, 
Smith,  Myrtle,  and  Nolan  Creeks. 

Some  prospects  have  been  made  across  the  mountain 
summit  to  the  north,  on  the  Arctic  slope,  but  their 
values  are  yet  undetermined. 

COAL 

From  time  to  time  there  have  been  expectations  of 
the  utilization  of  the  extensive  coal  beds  of  the  Yukon, 
of  which  the  known  area  approximates  400  square 
miles.  However,  oil  has  tended  to  displace  coal  as 
supplementary  fuel  to  the  30,000  cords  of  wood  used 
annually  by  Yukon  steamboats. 

The  principal  coal  beds  of  the  lower  Yukon  are 
bituminous,  while  the  upper  Yukon  coal  is  sub-bitumi 
nous.  The  opening  of  coal  mines  on  the  Canadian 
Yukon  has  been  financially  successful,  but  the  stimu 
lated  efforts  on  the  Alaska  Yukon  have  been  unprofit- 


98         HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

able,  though  attempted  at  several  places,  especially  on 
Washington  Creek  and  near  Nulato. 

The  entire  output  from  the  ten  or  twelve  mines 
which  have  been  worked  in  the  Yukon  Valley,  aggre 
gates,  according  to  Mr.  A.  J.  Collier,  about  9,000  tons, 
valued  at  $76,000. 

The  generally  inferior  quality  of  the  coal,  the  diffi 
culties  of  local  transportation,  and  the  high  cost  of 
labor,  are  cogent  reasons  against  the  successful  exploi 
tation  of  these  coal-fields  in  the  near  future. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — Bulletins  of  the  U.  S.  Geographical  Survey:  No. 
218,  Collier:  Coal  Resources  of  the  Yukon.  No.  284,  Prindle:  Yukoa 
Placer  fields.  No.  314,  Brooks:  Circle  Precinct.  No.  345,  Prindh  : 
Fortymile  Gold  Placer  District. 


CHAPTER  XII 
FAIRBANKS  AND  THE  TANANA  VALLEY 

THE  Tanana  River  is  the  largest  tributary  of  the 
Yukon,  and  its  mineral  resources  are  unsurpassed  by 
those  of  any  other  river  basin  of  Alaska.  In  addition 
to  its  gold  placers  and  coal  beds,  it  has  extensive 
forests,  wonderful  hot  springs,  and  land  areas  suited 
to  agriculture  and  forage  plants. 

FAIRBANKS  MINING  DISTRICT 

Of  overshadowing  importance  in  the  Tanana  Valley 
are  the  gold  placers  of  Fairbanks  district,  which  annu 
ally  produce  more  gold  than  any  other  district  in  the 
Territory. 

The  discoveries  and  explorations  of  Allen  in  1885  in 
this  valley,  the  charting  of  the  Tanana  River  by  Brooks 
and  Peters  in  1898,  the  establishment  by  E.  T.  Barnette 
of  a  trading  post  on  the  site  of  Fairbanks  in  1901,  and 
the  discovery  of  paying  placers  by  Pedro  in  1902,  were 
the  successive  factors  which  led  up  to  the  development 
of  this  great  mining  district,  which  yields  yearly  about 
§10,000,000  of  gold,  a  larger  amount  than  is  elsewhere 
mined  in  an  Alaskan  district. 

The  modest  output  from  Pedro  Creek  in  1902  gave 
rise  to  extravagant  hopes  and  consequent  disappoint- 

99 


100       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

ments  in  1903,  but  the  influx  of  miners  continued, 
though  the  output  for  3,000  prospectors  in  1904  was 
less  than  $1,200  per  man.  The  population  doubled  in 
the  succeeding  year,  and  the  yield  rose  from  $350,000 
in  1904  to  the  phenomenal  amount  of  $3,750,000  in 
1905.  Stampedes  to  other  camps,  union  strikes, 
droughts,  forest  fires,  and  disturbed  labor  conditions 
affected  the  production  to  some  extent,  but  it  rose  1o 
$9,174,617  in  1906,  and  was  not  materially  reduced 
either  in  1907  or  1908. 

There  are  four  mining  precincts  at  considerable  dis 
tances  from  the  central  district  at  Fairbanks — the 
Kantishna  and  Bonnefield  to  the  southwest,  the 
Tenderfoot  to  the  southeast,  and  Hot  Springs  to  the 
north. 

Bonnefield  and  Kantishna  Regions 

These  precincts  lie  southwest  of  Fairbanks,  the 
Bonnefield  placers  being  between  Wood  and  Cantwell 
Rivers,  while  the  other  includes  the  Kantishna  Basin 
and  extends  to  the  Mt.  McKinley  region.  Bonnefield 
precinct  is  most  difficult  of  access  and  the  placers  yet 
discovered  are  comparatively  unprofitable  at  present. 

The  Kantishna  is  navigable  about  175  miles,  so  that 
freight  is  easily  landed  at  Diamond  City  on  the  Bear- 
paw,  whence  it  is  about  25  miles  to  Glacier  City,  the 
base  of  supplies  for  the  two  richest  placers,  Eureka  and 
Glacier  Creeks.  Short  seasons,  high  freights,  and  costly 
supplies  have  tended  to  retard  materially  the  develop 
ment  of  these  precincts,  which  await  more  systematic 
examination  and  modern  machinery. 


FAIRBANK 


In  course  of  time  the  series  of  coal  beds,  which  stretch 
from  the  upper  Nenana  eastward  to  the  Delta  River, 
will  be  exploited  despite  their  low-grade  quality  and 
remoteness  of  situation.  Extensive  deposits  of  lignite 
are  prominently  visible  in  Bonnefield  precinct  along  the 
northern  slopes  of  the  Alaskan  range,  where  there  is  an 
area  of  600  square  miles  of  known  coal  lands.  Many 
claims  have  been  staked,  and  some  coal  has  been  mined 
and  used  locally  in  the  Kantishna  region.  While  trans 
portation  of  coal  to  market  in  adjacent  mining  regions 
is  now  unprofitable,  yet  it  is  anticipated  that  the  coal 
may  be  utilized  by  generating  electric  power  locally 
and  transmitting  it  to  Fairbanks,  about  75  miles  dis 
tant. 

Tenderfoot  Precinct 

This  precinct,  about  75  miles  southeast  of  Fairbanks, 
near  and  below  the  mouth  of  the  Goodpaster  River, 
comprises  the  basins  of  Banner,  Shaw,  and  Tenderfoot 
Creeks.  It  was  unpromising  financially  in  1904  to  1905, 
when  freights  were  $80  per  ton  from  Fairbanks,  while 
communication  was  tedious  and  uncertain.  Its  output 
rose  to  $100,000  in  1906,  and  with  an  influx  of  prospec 
tors  and  the  discovery  of  good  ground  it  increased  to 
$325,000  in  1907;  its  yield  is  claimed  to  approximate 
$500,000  in  1908. 

Hot  Springs  Precinct 

The  Baker  Hot  Springs  are  remarkable  for  their 
extent  and  their  contributory  effects  on  crops  grown 
thereat.  Lately  they  are  identified  with  mining, 


102       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

through  the  gold  placers  lately  discovered  in  their  im 
mediate  vicinity,  on  Baker,  Sullivan,  and  other  adjacer t 
creeks. 

FAIRBANKS  DISTRICT 

Far  the  greatest  gold  producer  is  the  Fairbanks 
district,  of  which  the  centre  is  Cleary  Creek,  about  9 


O  20  40 60 120  miles 

MAP   NO.  3 — FAIRBANKS   MINING   DISTRICT 

miles  from  the  city  of  Fairbanks.  Herein  located  the 
Pedro  place,  the  first  paying  discovery  to  which  the 
district  owes  its  prosperity.  Cleary  stands  first  with  its 
production  of  $10,000,000  or  more  of  gold,  from  a  creek 
7  miles  long.  -It  bids  fair  to  be  surpassed  in  the 
aggregate  by  Ester  Creek,  where  the  best  modern 
machinery  has  been  installed,  while  the  productivity  of 
Goldstream,  40  miles  long,  will  eventually  be  fabu 
lous,  judging  from  its  past  output.  Original  Pedro 


FAIRBANKS  103 

placer  is  yet  mined,  while  Fairbanks,  Dome,  Vault,  and 
other  creeks  are  large  producers.  On  each  important 
stream  has  grown  up  a  considerable  camp,  with  popula 
tions  varying  from  200  to  about  700. 

The  district  is  equipped  with  the  best  and  most 
efficient  mining  machinery,  is  in  telephonic  communica 
tion  with  every  mine  or  local  business  house  of  any 
importance,  has  its  freight  handled  promptly  and 
cheaply,  is  provided  with  railway  transportation — 
winter  as  well  as  summer — to  Fairbanks  and  adjacent 
mines  and  towns.  Amply  provided  as  it  is  with  all  the 
necessities  and  many  of  the  luxuries  of  life,  it  seems 
rather  to  be  a  mining  district  in  Montana  or  Nevada 
than  in  the  interior  of  Alaska,  almost  on  the  edge  of  the 
Arctic  Circle,  2,000  miles  north  of  the  Puget  Sound 
ports. 

The  Town  of  Fairbanks 

The  valley  of  the  Tanana  offers  favorable  conditions 
for  permanent  population  that  are  unsurpassed  else 
where  in  Alaska.  Fairbanks'  permanent  population 
approximates  4,000  in  number,  which  is  temporarily 
increased  to  5,000  at  certain  seasons.  Communication 
with  the  outside  is  convenient  and  comfortable  in  sum 
mer,  either  through  Nome  by  river  and  sea,  or  up  the 
Yukon  to  Dawson  and  thence  out  via  Skagway  and  the 
inland  passage.  In  winter,  by  easy  stage  travel  with 
comfortable  road-houses,  the  town  is  within  eight  or 
nine  days  of  Valdez,  an  open  winter  port  in  weekly 
steamer  communication  with  Seattle.  Either  route  is, 
however,  so  expensive  as  to  keep  the  labor  supply  down 


104       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

to  the  minimum  for  mining  operations  during  the  open 
season,  May  to  September  inclusive.  Under  such  con 
ditions  wages  are  not  unduly  high,  five  to  six  dollars 
per  day  with  board.  What  is  known  as  skilled  labor 
commands  considerably  higher  prices,  but  the  demand 
for  such  labor  is  strictly  limited. 

Fairbanks  is  a  well-built  town,  especially  within  its 
fire  limits.  An  electric  plant  furnishes  light  and 
power;  the  telephone  service  includes  nearly  300 
stations  in  the  city  and  extends  by  long-distance  lines 
to  seven  adjacent  towns;  a  central  steam  plant  heats 
the  business  quarters  and  many  private  residences; 
the  fire  system  has  a  capacity  of  15  streams  at  140 
pounds  pressure;  there  is  a  good  supply  of  water  dis 
tributed  in  the  business  section  by  mains;  three  banks, 
with  assay  offices,  and  foundries  cover  the  material  side 
of  life.  Among  the  moral  elements  are  five  religious 
denominations  with  pastors  and  churches,  excellent 
schools  for  about  150  pupils,  two  efficient  hospitals 
open  to  all,  three  newspapers  (two  dailies),  and  a 
quarterly  religious  magazine.  The  papers  publish  the 
cable  news  of  the  world,  which  appears  in  creditable 
form  through  type-setting  machines  and  cylinder 
presses.  There  are  comfortable  hotels,  excellent  res 
taurants,  and  a  variety  of  stores  from  which  almost 
everything  can  be  obtained.  A  large  theatre,  social 
clubs,  base-ball  park  in  summer,  curling  and  skating 
halls  in  winter,  supplement  the  more  quiet  amusements 
of  the  many  attractive  homes.  Adjoining  Fairbanks 
more  than  30,000  acres  have  been  homesteaded,  from 
which  are  now  annually  produced  large  crops  of  pota- 


FAIRBANKS  105 

toes  and  other  vegetables,  while  hay  and  other  forage 
are  now  grown  on  a  large  scale.  The  agricultural  pro 
ductions  of  the  Hot  Springs  homestead,  about  200 
miles  from  Fairbanks  in  the  lower  valley  of  the 
Tanana,  are  simply  astonishing  in  their  variety,  size, 
and  quality.  The  lumber  industry  is  so  extensive  that 
large  capital,  about  250  men,  and  five  saw-mills  are 
steadily  engaged  in  handling  the  poplar,  birch,  hem 
lock,  and  spruce  which  in  great  quantities  are  rafted 
to  Fairbanks  from  the  upper  Tanana  and  Chena 
Rivers.* 

An  important  enterprise  is  the  electric  plant  of 
Fairbanks  for  furnishing  light  and  power  for  the  ad 
jacent  mining  towns,  from  9  to  15  miles  distant. 
Eventually  it  is  probable  that  long-distance  power  will 
be  obtained  economically  through  plants  installed  at 
convenient  points  in  the  coal  regions  of  the  valley. 

The  quantities  of  supplies  in  the  way  of  machinery, 
clothing,  food,  etc.,  that  are  imported  from  the  outside 
may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  the  two  great  firms, 
the  Northern  Navigation  and  North  American  Trading 
Companies,  annually  bring  into  the  Tanana  Valley 
about  25,000  tons  of  freight,  while  considerably  more 
is  handled  by  independent  steamboats.  The  distribu 
tion  of  this  enormous  quantity  of  freight  would  be 
practically  impossible,  if  there  had  not  been  provided 
suitable  road  and  railway  facilities  to  meet  the  rapidly 
developing  demands.  As  indicated  in  Chapter  IV, 
very  much  has  been  done  by  the  Alaska  Road  Com 
mission  to  improve  the  local  roads,  thus  to  reduce  rates 

*  For  distribution  of  forests  see  text  map,  Chapter  VI. 


106       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

of  freight,  facilitate  travel  by  stage,  and,  most  import- 
ant,  render  possible  a  regular  mail  service.  The  work 
accomplished  has  been  astonishing,  and  one  now  travels 
in  comfort  from  October  to  May  in  fine  modern  stages, 
over  the  373  miles  of  roads  between  Fairbanks  and 
Valdez,  the  trip  taking  from  eight  to  nine  days.  Dur 
ing  the  open  season — May  to  early  October — abouu 
three-quarters  of  this  road  can  be  travelled  by  wheeled 
conveyance,  and  probably  by  1910  the  whole  distance 
will  be  thus  passable.  Over  one  section  of  this  road 
there  passed  in  a  season  24  tons  of  mail,  1,540  tons  of 
freight,  and  about  1,200  passengers.  Around  Fairbanks 
there  have  been  built  eight  local  roads,  75  miles  in 
length,  connecting  every  important  town  or  camp  with 
Fairbanks  or  the  railway. 

Important  as  are  the  roads,  they  are  secondary  in 
point  of  transportation  to  the  Tanana  Valley  Railway, 
a  system  of  45  miles  which  has  been  constructed  and 
operated  by  private  enterprise.  Commenced  in  1905, 
it  has  since  been  operated  continuously,  winter  and 
summer.  Connecting  the  deep-water  port  of  Chena  and 
Fairbanks,  the  main  line  follows  the  placer  mining 
region  to  Gilmore  and  Chatinika,  thus  reaching  all 
the  large  producing  placers.  More  than  54,000  pas 
sengers  and  about  15,000  tons  of  freight  passed  over 
the  road  in  one  season.  When  the  railway  was  opened 
the  local  freight  rate  was  $3  per  ton  mile,  which  has 
been  steadily  reduced  by  the  railway  from  88  cents 
per  ton  mile  in  1906  to  58  cents  in  1908.  An  idea  of 
the  enterprise  of  the  railway  builders,  and  of  the  cost 
involved,  may  be  had  from  the  statement  that  much 


FAIRBANKS  107 

of  the  material  was  moved  6,000  miles,  while  the  freight 
cost  twice  the  initial  value  of  the  rails. 

It  is  evident  that  the  gold  production  of  the  Tanana 
Valley  is  far  from  having  reached  its  maximum,  and 
that  there  are  opportunities  for  the  further  develop 
ment  of  its  vast  coal  deposits,  its  forest  wealth,  and  its 
agricultural  possibilities.  Further,  the  writer  is  of  the 
opinion  that  many  of  the  settlements  in  this  great 
valley  will  be  permanent,  even  when  its  gold  placers 
shall  yield  in  importance  to  other  resources. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — Bulletins  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  314.  Prindle: 
Bonnefield  and  Kantishna  Regions,  337.  Prindle:  Fairbanks  and  Ram 
part  Quadrangles,  also  345.  Tanana  number,  Alaska- Yukon  Magazine, 
January,  1909. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
COPPER  RIVER  REGION  AND  COOK  INLET 

GREAT  in  value  as  are  the  auriferous  placers  and  lodes 
of  Fairbanks,  Nome,  and  Juneau,  it  is  believed  that  in 
time  they  will  yield  in  importance  and  in  value  of  out 
put  to  the  copper  ores  and  coal  fields  of  the  coast 
region  south  of  the  Alaskan  Range,  extending  from 
Yakutat  westward  to  the  Alaskan  Peninsula. 

The  development  of  all  this  region  has  hitherto  been 
slow  and  unsatisfactory.  The  gold  output  from  1895 
to  1898  inclusive  did  not  reach  three  and  a  half  millions, 
an  annual  average  yield  of  less  than  a  quarter  of  a 
million,  and  of  this  amount  25  per  cent,  is  credited  to 
the  years  1904  and  1905.  It  is  beyond  reasonable 
doubt,  however,  that  the  mineral  productivity  of  this 
part  of  Alaska  will  be  largely  increased,  and  that 
within  a  few  years. 

Copper  River  Region 

Valdez  has  been  the  centre  of  the  activities  of  this 
district  until  1908,  when  its  new  rival  Cordova  was 
founded  as  railway  headquarters.  Valdez  is  an  enter 
prising  town,  with  many  advantages  and  attractions. 
Its  site  is  beautiful  and  its  picturesque  surroundings 
are  beyond  description.  The  contrasting  elements  of 
bay  and  mountain,  of  glacier  and  valley,  of  moraine 

108 


COPPER    RIVER    REGION       109 

and  forest,  must  be  seen  to  be  appreciated.  Within 
easy  reach  are  Port  Wells  and  Harriman  fiord  with  a 
succession  of  live  glaciers,  which  for  their  size,  number, 
and  magnificence  cannot  be  surpassed.  A  few  miles 
inland  from  Valdez  begins  a  wooded  country,  which  by 
the  size  of  its  trees,  the  color  of  its  abundant  flowers, 
and  the  variety  of  its  edible  berries  recalls  the  most 
fertile  valleys  of  California  and  Washington.  Valdez 
affords  all  the  comforts  and  most  of  the  luxuries  of 
modern  life,  with  its  clubs — notably  the  Tillicum — 
hotels,  electric  lights,  telephone  service,  churches, 
schools,  and  hospital.  Truck  gardens  thrive,  and  saw 
mills  do  a  flourishing  business.  In  short,  there  is 
everything  to  make  a  considerable  town,  except  a 
railway  into  the  interior,  which  there  have  been  heroic 
efforts  to  build.  Unfortunately,  after  the  construction 
of  several  miles  of  completed  track,  the  Alaska  Home 
Railway  Company  went  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver. 
The  port  is  the  most  northerly  harbor  in  North  Amer 
ica,  possibly  of  the  world,  that  is  open  throughout  the 
year.  In  addition  Valdez  is  the  junction  point  of  the 
Signal  Corps  Seattle- Valdez  Cable  and  its  military 
land  lines,  that  reach,  by  a  system  of  nearly  3,000 
miles,  Fairbanks,  Egbert,  Nome,  and  the  Bering 
Strait  region.  More  important,  Valdez  is  the  point  of 
departure,  over  the  Federal  roads,  for  the,  great  Alaskan 
mail  that  serves  tens  of  thousands  of  miners  throughout 
the  northland.  As  shown  in  Chapter  IV,  these  roads 
are  the  natural  highway  that  leads  to  the  Tanana  Val- 
lev>  by  the  only  winter  service  in  Alaska  open  to  freight 
and  passengers. 


110       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

The  mining  interests  of  the  Controller  Bay  region 
built  up  Katalla  as  a  rival  to  Valdez,  but  complications 
arose  and  disadvantages  developed,  which  ended  in  the 
practical  transfer  of  the  railway  terminus  to  Cordova, 
where  a  thriving,  bustling  town  came  into  existence  in 


MAP   NO.   4 — LOWER   COPPER  AND  CHITINA   VALLEYS 

1908.  Its  future  success  is  assured,  though  it  is  un 
certain  to  what  extent  it  will  displace  Valdez,  about 
fifty  miles  farther  to  the  north. 

As  has  been  stated,  the  gold  fields  of  the  Copper  River 
region,  though  promising  in  their  future  outlook,  have 
not  been  profitable  producers  to  any  extent.  The 
output  of  the  placers  in  the  Nizina  district,  at  the  head 


COPPER    RIVER    REGION       111 

of  the  Chitina,  and  of  the  Chestochina  Basin,  could 
scarcely  have  exceeded  $200,000  in  1908,  though  ex 
tensive  improvements  in  the  way  of  ditches,  hydraulic 
appliances,  and  systematic  development  should  greatly 
increase  the  future  yield.  Auriferous  lode  mining  has 
been  pursued  on  Jacksina  Creek,  where  a  small  stamp 
mill  has  been  operated  and  ore  bodies  uncovered. 

The  principal  forms  of  mineral  wealth  in  these  dis 
tricts  consist  of  copper  veins  and  coal  beds,  which  are 
considered  as  almost  inexhaustible  in  quantity  and 
excelling  in  quality.  Gold  and  oil  are  considered  as 
yet  only  contributory  and  incidental  resources. 

COPPER 

The  copper  veins  from  which  the  greatest  yield  is 
anticipated  are  rich  in  quality  and  extended  in  distribu 
tion.  Indeed,  it  is  claimed  that  this  district  is  un 
equalled  elsewhere  in  its  copper  resources,  whether 
viewed  from  the  standpoints  of  extent  of  field,  richness 
of  ore,  or  facility  of  mining.  The  deposits  are  both 
sulphides  and  native  copper,  which  are  widely  dis 
tributed  and  apparently  unlimited  in  quantity.  The 
copper-bearing  area  is  included  between  the  Nebesna 
watershed  of  the  Wrangell  Range  and  Chitina  Valley  to 
the  south,  and  from  the  Kotsina  eastward  to  the  Inter 
national  Boundary. 

In  both  the  Chitina  and  Kotsina  basins  the  deposits 
are  being  systematically  developed,  and  mining  instal 
lations  are  under  construction.  No  less  than  six  com 
panies  have  done  extensive  work  for  development.  At 
the  Bonanza  mine,  in  the  Nizina  watershed,  the  mining 


112       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

installation  has  been  practically  completed,  pending 
the  perfection  of  adequate  means  of  transportation, 
which  now  consist  of  one  boat  connecting  with  the 
Copper  River  Railway. 

Three  disadvantages  developed — the  winter  snow, 
the  short  summer  season,  both  insuperable,  and 
the  inadequate,  most  expensive  transportation  both 
for  men  and  material.  The  handling  of  winter  freight; 
by  horse  sleds  is  less  difficult  than  the  transportation  of 
miners  in  and  out.  In  consequence,  the  necessity  of 
speedy  and  economical  transportation  was  early  rec 
ognized  as  the  most  important  factor  in,  if  not  abso 
lutely  indispensable  to,  successful  operations.  Pend 
ing  the  determination  of  the  financial  expediency  of 
developing  the  ore  bodies,  there  arose  numerous 
schemes,  involving  legal  complications  and  bitter 
rivalries,  as  to  route,  construction,  and  control  of  such 
road.  Several  " railroad  wars"  occurred  with  violence 
and  manslaughter,  necessitating  the  intervention  of  the 
Federal  authorities  to  restore  the  public  peace.  Event 
ually  transportation  facilities  were  provided  b}^  the 
Copper  River  Railroad,  which,  beginning  operations  in 
1908,  constructed  a  standard-gauge  railway  to  Aber- 
crombie  Rapids,  a  point  from  which  the  upper  Chitina 
is  regularly  reached  by  light-draft  steamboats. 

Railway  construction  is  progressing  steadily,  and 
the  completion  of  the  Copper  River  Railway  up  the 
Chitina,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Nizina,  is  practically  as 
sured.  This  will  furnish  speedy  and  economical  trans 
portation,  over  a  down-grade,  of  copper  ores  mined  in 
the  watershed  of  the  Chitina.  With  the  development 


COPPER    RIVER    REGION      113 

of  the  Bering  River  coal  fields,  thus  bringing  together 
cheap  coal  and  cheap  copper-ores,  will  undoubtedly 
spring  up  a  large  smelting  industry  in  this  district. 

Prince  William  Sound 

Copper  production  in  this  district  has  not  waited  on 
railroad  building  for  its  incipiency.  On  Prince  William 
Sound,  immediately  adjoining  Cordova,  copper  mines 
have  been  developed  and  operated  at  Ellemar,  as  well 
as  farther  west  on  Latouche  Island  and  on  Knight 
Island.  Of  these  mines  the  Bonanza,  Latouche  Is 
land,  was  operated  continuously  during  1908,  and  the 
Gladhaugh  most  of  the  time,  while  several  other  proper 
ties  made  small  outputs.  The  ore  shipped  was  high- 
grade,  "averaging  probably  between  7  and  8  per  cent, 
copper  and  $1  to  $2  in  gold  and  silver."  Altogether 
Prince  William  Sound  produced  in  1908  over  500  short 
tons  of  copper,  as  against  about  700  tons  for  the  rest  of 
Alaska;  a  striking  evidence  of  the  low  unit  cost  of 
operation  on  the  Sound,  when  one  considers  the  low 
price  of  copper  that  year.  When  cheap  fuel  shall  be 
available  from  the  adjacent  coal  fields,  large  quantities 
of  low-grade  copper  ore  can  be  profitably  treated  by 
local  smelters. 

COAL 

The  known  coal  fields  of  Alaska,  as  given  by  Brooks, 
aggregate  1,238  square  miles,  of  which  30.6  are  anthra 
cite,  54.7  semi-bituminous,  557.3  bituminous,  and  861 
lignite.  The  areas  of  the  coal-bearing  rocks  aggregate 
12,644  square  miles. 


114       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

The  most  important  advance  of  late  years  was  the 
systematic  survey  and  development  of  the  coal  re 
sources  of  this  region. 

The  most  valuable  coal  deposits  in  Alaska  are  those 
at  and  near  Controller  Bay,  of  which  the  Bering  River 
veins  are  best  known.  The  coal  beds  on  the  Matanuska 
River,  Cook  Inlet,  are  but  slightly  inferior.  The 
Bering  River  fields  cover  an  area  aggregating  48.4 
square  miles,  of  which  26.6  are  underlaid  by  anthracite 
and  semi-anthracite.  The  opinion  that  these  coals  are 
suited  for  coke,  steaming,  etc.,  is  fully  justified  by 
analyses  which  show  that  the  Bering  coal  has  a  fuel 
ratio  rising  from  5.28  for  the  semi-bituminous  to  8.77 
for  the  semi-anthracite  and  12.86  for  the  anthracite. 
The  Matanuska  coal  values  are  slightly  lower,  ranging 
from  3.23  to  11.90.  The  best  British  Columbia  coals 
range  from  2.22  fuel  ratio  to  3.35.  Comparisons  with 
the  best  Eastern  coals  are  decidedly  favorable,  the  three 
standard  coals  being  Pennsylvania  anthracite,  22.33 
fuel  ratio;  Loyalsock,  semi-anthracite,  7.13;  and  Poca- 
hontas,  semi-bituminous,  4.46. 

Of  the  areas  of  high-grade  coal  Brooks  writes : 

The  Bering  River  field,  lying  about  twenty-five  miles 
from  tide- water  at  Controller  Bay,  embraces  26.4  square 
miles  underlaid  by  anthracite  and  20.2  square  miles 
underlaid  by  bituminous  coal.  Coal  beds  varying  from 
6  to  20  feet  in  thickness  are  exposed  in  this  region,  with 
some  local  swellings,  giving  a  much  higher  maximum 
thickness.  In  quality  the  coals  vary  from  an  anthra 
cite,  with  84  per  cent,  of  fixed  carbon,  to  a  semi- 
bituminous,  with  74  per  cent,  of  fixed  carbon  and  in 
clude  some  varieties  that  will  coke. 


COPPER    RIVER    REGION       115 

Although  the  Bering  River  coal  beds  have  been  lo 
cated  and  partly  opened,  their  development  is  practi 
cally  suspended,  as  patents  cannot  be  obtained  for 
sufficient  acreage  to  justify  the  expensive  installations 
that  are  necessary  for  success.  This  is  due  to  the 
withdrawal  of  these  lands  from  entry,  which  how 
ever  is  only  temporary.  Meanwhile  the  disadvan 
tages  attendant  on  opening  up  of  coal  mines  and 
marketing  their  output,  have  been  in  a  large  measure 
overcome  by  private  energy  and  enterprise.  Controller 
Bay  did  not  offer  proper  shipping  facilities,  while  heavy 
timber,  dense  vegetation,  extended  swamps,  and  exces 
sive  rainfall  made  all  operations  slow  and  costly. 
Conditions  have  now  entirely  changed,  through  the 
construction  of  the  Katalla  Railway,  seven  miles, 
narrow  gauge,  which  connects  with  the  Copper  River 
system  and  its  terminal  facilities  at  Cordova. 

Brooks  says  of  the  importance  of  the  coal  fields: 

The  value  of  the  high-grade  fuels  of  the  Pacific  sea 
board  (of  Alaska)  exceeds  that  of  the  gold  deposits,  and 
the  exploitation  of  these  coal  fields  is  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  the  entire  western  seaboard  of  the  conti 
nent.  These  coals  will  furnish  not  only  the  high-grade 
steam  coal  needed  for  various  industries,  but  also  the 
coke  for  metallurgical  enterprises. 

PETROLEUM 

The  petroleum  fields  of  this  region  extend  from  the 
Copper  River  delta  eastward  to  Bering  Glacier,  an 
area  of  about  150  square  miles.  Operations  since  1901 
have  proceeded  in  a  desultory  way  and  without  any 


116       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

large  flow  of  oil.  A  dozen  or  more  wells  have  been 
drilled,  of  which  about  one- fourth  have  produced  oil 
in  moderate  amounts.  Difficulties  as  to  title,  heavy 
cost  of  installation,  prospective  competition  of  the 
Californian  fields,  and  lack  of  transportation  facilities 
are  at  present  preventing  extended  operations.  The 
local  demands,  however,  are  met  by  the  output. 

Cook  Inlet 

The  inlet  region  is  still  in  the  stage  of  slow  develop 
ment  rather  than  in  that  of  productivity.  Auriferous 
lode  mining  is  gradually  coming  to  the  front,  the 
Willow  Creek  Basin,  of  the  lower  Susitna,  having 
added  a  five-stamp  plant  to  the  three-stamp  mill  that 
has  successfully  operated  for  several  years.  The  gold 
output  is  as  yet  inconsiderable,  scarcely  reaching  a 
quarter  of  a  million  in  1908,  including  the  yields  of  the 
Sunrise,  Valdez,  and  Yentna  placers.  The  difficulty 
and  expense  of  reaching  Valdez  Creek  and  the  Yentna 
River  preclude  the  successful  working  of  any  but  their 
richest  placers.  None  of  the  gold  and  copper  lodes 
located  on  the  Kenai  Peninsula  have  yet  reached  the 
producing  stage. 

The  Matanuska  coal  fields,  though  remote  from  sea 
transportation,  are  the  most  valuable  mineral  deposits 
of  the  inlet  region;  their  area,  quality,  and  availability 
are  conclusively  shown  by  late  mining  surveys.  Two 
serious  conditions  are  retarding  their  complete  develop 
ment — inability  to  obtain  patents  for  the  coal  lands, 
and  the  financial  embarrassments  of  the  Alaskan  Central 
Railway  Company,  which  has  suspended  construction 


COPPER    RIVER    REGION       117 

and  placed  its  affairs  in  the  hands  of  a  receiver.  As 
Cook  Inlet  is  closed  at  its  head  by  ice  for  a  portion  of 
the  winter,  the  full  development  of  the  Susitna, 
Yentna,  Matanuska,  and  other  mineral-producing  re 
gions  depends  on  railways,  so  that  their  great  pros 
perity  must  be  somewhat  delayed. 
Brooks  thus  describes  these  veins: 

The  Matanuska  coal  field  lies  about  twenty-five  miles 
from  Knik  Arm,  a  northerly  embayment  of  Cook  Inlet 
(frozen  in  winter).  The  known  commercially  valuable 
coals  of  the  Matanuska  field  vary  in  quality  from  a 
sub-bituminous  to  a  semi-bituminous,  with  some  anthra 
cite.  The  coal  beds  vary  from  five  to  thirty-six  feet  in 
thickness,  and  the  total  area  known  to  be  underlaid 
aggregates  46.5  square  miles. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — Bulletins  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey:  No.  284, 
Grant:  Copper  Resources  of  Prince  William  Sound.  No.  335,  Martin: 
Mineral  Resources  of  Controller  Bay.  No.  277,  Moffit:  Gold  Fields  of 
Turnagain  Arm.  Stone:  Coal  Fields  of  Kachemeak  Bay.  No.  239, 
Martin:  Matanuska  Coal  Field  Also  No.  345. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
FUR-SEAL   FISHERIES 

ENWRAPPED  in  constant  summer  sea  mists,  which  con 
cealed  them  almost  absolutely  from  chance  observation, 
the  breeding  grounds  of  the  Alaskan  fur-seal  we-e 
finally  discovered  by  a  patient  and  persistent  fur- 
hunter,  Gerassim  Pribilof,  in  1786,  after  whom  the  group 
of  four  islands  is  named.  The  principal  islands,  St. 
George  and  St.  Paul,  are  30  miles  apart,  and  near 
by  are  the  lesser  islet  of  Otter  and  the  waterless  ledges 
of  Walrus.  St.  Paul  has  an  area  of  some  35  square 
miles,  its  highest  elevation  is  600  feet,  and  the  popula 
tion  numbers  about  300;  St.  George  has  an  area  of  27 
square  miles,  its  elevation  is  930  feet,  and  the  popula 
tion  about  100;  uninhabited  Otter  Islet  has  an  area 
of  about  4  miles,  while  the  flat-topped  Walrus  reef 
scarcely  measures  a  tenth  of  a  square  mile. 

The  group  is  about  equidistant,  200  miles,  from 
Unalaska  to  the  south,  St.  Matthew  to  the  north,  and 
the  Alaskan  mainland  to  the  east.  This  isolation,  the 
character  of  the  frequented  beaches,  and  the  humidity 
of  its  almost  sunless  climate  are  elements  that  have 
done  much  to  conserve  these  immense  herds  of  fur-seal 
as  a  limitless  source  of  wealth,  until  the  introduction  of 
the  exterminating  pelagic  or  open-sea  hunting,  which 
presents  another  example  of  reckless  commercial 

118 


FUR-SEAL    FISHERIES          119 

exploitation  that  is  utterly  regardless  of  the  welfare  of 
future  generations. 

Practically  the  Pribilofs  have  two  seasons  only,  cool, 
rainy,  and  foggy  summers  from  May  to  October,  and 
dry,  cold,  and  stormy  winters,  with  very  high  winds, 
from  November  to  April. 

A  few  creeping  willows  are  the  only  trees,  but  here 
and  there  shrubs  furnish  forth  black  currants  and  red 
salmon  berries  in  good  seasons.  With  difficulty  lettuce, 
radishes,  and  turnips  are  raised  while  mushrooms  grow 
in  abundance.  In  addition,  rank  grasses,  beautiful 
flowers,  delicate  mosses,  and  luxuriant  ferns  make  much 
of  the  landscape  beautiful  during  the  short  summer 
season.  Of  animal  life  there  are  foxes — blue  and 
white — on  the  islands,  but  the  arctic  lemming  is 
restricted  to  St.  George. 

Aside  from  the  fur-seal,  the  birds  of  the  Pribilofs  are 
of  the  greatest  interest.  There  are  two  great  bird 
rookeries — on  the  face  of  the  bluffs  of  St.  George,  and 
on  the  table-topped  Walrus  ledge. 

"The  latter  place,"  says  Elliott,  "affords  within  the 
smallest  area  the  greatest  variety  of  nesting  and 
breeding  birds,  for  here  the  Carrie/  many  gulls,  cor 
morants,  sea-parrots,  and  auks  come  in  countless  num 
bers.  .  .  .  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  these  birds  are 
thus  engaged  [in  hatching  eggs],  roosting  stacked  up 
together  as  tight  as  so  many  sardines  in  a  box,  as 
compactly  as  they  can  be  stowed,  each  and  all  uttering 
an  incessant,  muffled,  hoarse,  grunting  sound. 

"Here,  without  exertion  or  risk,  the  naturalist  can 
observe  and  walk  among  tens  upon  tens  of  thousands 


120       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

of  screaming  waterfowl,  literally  ignored  and  sur 
rounded  by  these  feathered  friends." 

Of  the  eggs,  Elliott  relates  that  in  1872,  six  natives, 
in  four  hours,  loaded  a  bidarka  (large  boat)  of  four 
tons  burden  to  the  water's  edge,  with  the  gayly  colored 
eggs  of  the  arrie  (lomvia  arra). 

It  is  the  otary  or  eared  seal,  commonly  known  as  fur- 
seal,  that  is  of  predominating  importance  in  these 
islands,  this  species  being  the  most  valuable  of  all 
maritime  mammals  in  commercial  productivity.  The 
present  method  of  rookery  sealing  was  introduced  by 
Pribilof  in  1786,  which  speedily  led  to  fierce  rivalries 
and  the  settlement  of  the  Pribilof  group  by  137  natives 
from  Unalaska  and  Atka.  The  preservation  of  the 
herds  from  utter  destruction  was  due  to  the  monopoly 
granted  the  Russian  Trading  Company  in  1799.  Then 
the  policy  was  adopted,  which  remains  unchanged  to 
day,  of  restricting  the  killing  of  seals  to  agents  of  the 
leasing  company. 

In  1868  Congress  made  the  Pribilof  group  a  fur-seal 
reservation,  and  in  the  Act  of  June,  1870,  for  the 
preservation  of  fur-bearing  animals,  provisions  were 
made  for  the  leasing  of  the  islands  for  a  term  of  years. 
The  first  lease  was  made  in  1870  for  twenty  years  to  the 
Alaska  Commercial  Company,  under  well-guarded 
restrictions  to  insure  the  preservation  of  the  seal  and 
to  guard  the  welfare  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  islands. 
The  company  was  authorized  to  take  annually  not 
more  than  100,000  sealskins,  paying  therefor  on  a 
sliding  scale,  while  certain  food,  fuel,  and  educational 
facilities  were  to  be  furnished  the  natives,  whose  liberty 


Sc 

2 
5 

55 


FUR-SEAL    FISHERIES         121 

of  action  and  removal  were  likewise  insured.  In  1890 
the  lease  passed  to  the  Northern  Commercial  Company, 
whose  rights  expire  in  1910.  Under  the  administration 
of  these  companies  the  conditions  of  life  among  the 
natives  have  very  materially  improved,  and  they  are 
unsurpassed  by  the  Aleuts  of  any  other  islands  as  to 
education,  religious  training,  material  well-being,  or 
other  civilized  conditions. 

The  seals  resort  to  the  Pribilof  Islands  for  breeding 
purposes  in  the  early  part  of  JuneT  The  mother  has 
one  pup,  born  about  the  end  of  June,  which  by  the 
early  days  of  August  has  learned  to  swim  and  is  ready 
to  leave  for  the  south.  Full-grown  seals  of  four  years 
weigh  about  200  pounds,  and  increase  somewhat  in 
weight  after  that  age. 

Under  existing  law  the  only  seals  that  can  be  legally 
killed  in  Alaska  are :  first,  by  the  Pribilof  natives  for 
food;  second,  by  Sitkan  natives  in  the  coast  waters; 
and  third,  by  the  authorized  lessors,  the  Northern  Com 
mercial  Company. 

Under  the  terms  of  the  lease  only  the  males  are  killed, 
and  from  1870  to  1890  the  number  was  limited  to 
100,000  annually.  These  were  taken  between  the  mid 
dle  of  June  and  the  first  of  August,  when  their  skins  are 
in  prime  condition.  Since  1890  the  number  to  be  killed 
has  been  restricted  to  40,000,  but  the  largest  number 
taken  in  late  years  was  30,654  in  1896,  and  since  that 
date  the  catch  has  not  reached  24,000.  The  number  of 
fur-seal  skins  obtained  since  1868,  and  their  values,  is 
shown  for  separate  years  in  Table  ^ 

The  high  value  of  sealskins  caused  Canadian  fisher- 


122       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

men  to  attack  the  seals  passing  to  and  from  the  Pribilofu 
and  to  shoot  them  outside  the  three-mile  limit,  often 
killing  both  male  and  female ;  three- fourths  were 
females.  As  this  industry  was  equally  important  to 
Great  Britain,  where  the  skins  are  dressed  and  dyed,  an 
arbitration  conference  was  eventually  held  at  Paris  in 
1893.  Under  the  regulations  there  formulated,  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States  agreed  to  limit  pelagio 
sealing  by  prohibiting  it  at  any  time  within  sixty  miles 
of  the  Pribilof  Islands,  and  permitting  it  to  be  followed 
in  the  rest  of  Bering  Sea  only  between  May  1  and  July  3  L 
of  each  year.  Sealers  were  to  be  licensed,  and  forbid 
den  to  use  firearms  or  explosives  in  fur-sealing. 

As  pelagic  sealing  is  still  allowed,  there  has,  however, 
been  no  practical  relief  by  the  action  of  the  Paris 
conference.  The  destruction  by  pelagic  and  coast 
hunting  increased  from  23  per  cent,  of  the  grand  total 
in  1889  to  58  per  cent,  in  1890.  The  disastrous  effects 
were  speedily  evident,  as  the  number  of  skins  taken  on 
the  seal  islands  fell  from  102,617  in  1889  to  7,390  in 
1893,  as  against  30,812  taken  that  year  by  pelagic  and 
coast  hunters.  That  such  action  was  destructive  to 
all  concerned,  pelagic  hunters  as  well  as  the  authorized 
agents,  is  shown  by  the  values  of  all  sealskins  taken  in 
1893,  $584,680  as  against  $2,298,204  in  1888,  showing 
that  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  industry  had  been 
destroyed  in  five  years.  The  number  of  fur-seals 
killed  on  the  islands  averaged  14,969  for  the  five  years 
ending  with  1908,  as  against  104,245  in  the  five  years 
ending  with  1889. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  seal  herd  in  1867  numbered 


FUR-SEAL    FISHERIES         123 

about  5,000,000;  in  1873,  about  3,200,000.  Pelagic,  or 
open-sea,  hunting  means  annihilation,  as  very  many  so 
killed  are  nursing  mothers.  Only  a  small  proportion 
of  those  shot  are  saved,  so  that  the  whole  pelagic 
fishery  means  wanton  waste.  As  a  result  the  seal  herd 
at  the  Pribilof  group  scarcely  exceeded  200,000  in 
1905,  of  whom  about  one-third  were  females. 

Two  pelagic  fleets  now  operate  each  summer,  one 
from  Canada  and  the  other  from  Japan.  The  Canadian 
fleet ,  as  a  rule,  strictly  observes  the  Paris  regulations; 
but  Japan,  being  free  from  such  restrictions,  is  bound 
only  by  the  international  regulations,  which  prohibit 
fishing  in  United  States  waters. 

The  Canadian  fleet  consists  of  about  sixteen  schoon 
ers,  but  their  catch  is  supplemented  by  the  hunts  of 
coast  Indians.  The  entire  Canadian  catch  has  gradu 
ally  fallen  off,  being  10,832  in  1905,  9,386  in  1906,  and 
5,397  in  1907. 

The  Japanese  fleet  has  gradually  increased  and  now 
numbers  about  thirty-seven  sail.  Unfortunately  the 
Japanese  have  in  several  cases  violated  law  and  pro 
prieties.  Doubtless  many  of  the  vessels  confine  their 
operations  to  open-sea  captures,  but  they  do  not  observe 
a  closed  season.  In  at  least  one  instance  their  voyages 
partook  of  a  piratical  nature.  In  1906  not  only  did 
they  enter  the  three-mile  limit  of  the  Pribilof  group, 
but  they  even  attempted  to  plunder  the  rookeries  on 
St.  Paul  Island  in  1906.  They  were  repelled  by  force, 
whereby  seven  men  were  killed  and  twelve  captured, 
the  latter  escaping  with  three  months  imprisonment. 
Japanese  sealers  again  invaded  the  United  States  in 


124       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

1907,  but  only  two  vessels  were  captured  in  flagrant 
operations,  though  more  than  thirteen  thousand  fur-seal 
skins  were  taken  by  them  in  Alaskan  waters.  Unless 
better  counsels  prevail,  the  pernicious  activity  of  the: 
Japanese  sealers  will  annihilate  the  Pribilof  seal  herds 
within  a  few  years,  and  deprive  the  world  of  an  im 
portant  industry  that  has  existed  for  over  a  century, 
and  which,  if  properly  conserved,  would  for  centuries  to 
come  yield  $1,000,000  or  more  annually. 

Unless  conditions  are  changed  the  seal-islands  will 
soon  become  a  financial  burden.  Even  now  the  United 
States  is  obliged  to  support  in  part  the  natives  whose 
employment  is  thus  being  destroyed,  their  earnings  in 
1908  at  St.  George  being  less  for  seal-catching  than  for 
foxes. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — Fur-Seal  Investigations,  U.  S.  Treasury  Department, 
1899.  Elliott:  Our  Arctic  Province,  1886.  Reports  relating  to  Alas 
kan  Seal  Fisheries,  1906-1907.  Senate  Document,  No.  376, 60th  Congress, 
1st  Session. 


CHAPTER  XV 
ALASKAN  FISHERIES-THE  SALMON 

IN  general  the  prosperity  of  our  Alaskan  investment 
was  long  thought  to  be  dependent  on  the  fur-seal 
rookeries  of  the  Pribilof  Islands.  The  great  falling  off 
in  marketed  sealskins  of  one-third,  from  1881  to  1882, 
was  viewed  by  many  as  the  beginning  of  the  end  of 
Alaskan  productivity. 

The  maximum  output  in  value  of  fur-seal  skins 
occurred  in  1880,  amounting  that  year  to  $2,347,687. 
A  few  far-sighted  and  enterprising  firms  of  San  Fran 
cisco  realized  the  great  wealth  of  life  in  the  northern 
seas,  and  were  endeavoring  to  develop  the  fisheries  of 
Alaska.  Despite  their  utmost  efforts  the  fishery  prod 
ucts  in  1880  were  viewed  somewhat  askant,  as  they 
totalled  less  than  $500,000,  about  one-seventeenth  that 
of  the  fur-seal  values. 

The  extension  and  conservation  of  the  valuable 
fisheries  of  Alaska  have  been  largely  due  to  the  ener 
getic  and  persistent  efforts  of  the  United  States  Com 
missioner  of  Fisheries  and  his  skilled  assistants.  Their 
reports  are  full  of  valuable  and  interesting  matter, 
which  has  been  largely  utilized  in  this  volume. 

Few,  it  is  thought,  realize,  even  to-day,  the  extraordi 
nary  growth  of  the  Alaskan  fisheries,  whose  values 
aggregated  in  1907  $9,500,000  as  against  less  than 

125 


126       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

$500,000  for  fur-seals,  the  rookeries  producing  only 
one-nineteenth  as  much  as  the  fisheries.  The  general 
changes  in  these,  as  in  other  Alaskan  industries,  can 
be  noted  by  reference  to  Tables  Nos.  7  and  8. 

Suffice  it  here  to  say  that  the  salmon  fishery  alon3 
has  increased  from  an  output  of  $41,277  in  1878  to  th-3 
stupendous  sum  of  $9,164,308  in  1907.  Among  other 
contributions  to  the  grand  aggregate  of  $10,160,183 
(including  $475,107  for  fur-seal)  of  Alaskan  fisheries 
for  1907,  the  next  important  are  the  cod,  $148,301,  and 
the  halibut,  $140,076. 

The  extent  and  importance  of  the  fishery  industries 
are  shown  not  alone  in  their  vast  productivity,  but  also 
in  their  capitalization,  personnel,  and  their  indirect 
influence  on  trade.  Eliminating  the  cash  capital  and 
the  outfits  for  fishing  and  transportation,  the  total  in 
vestment  in  1907  reached  $9,216,028.  Of  the  12,732 
persons  employed,  no  less  than  4,829  (two-thirds  white 
and  the  balance  natives)  were  engaged  directly  in 
fishing,  7,277  in  canneries,  salteries,  and  other  shore 
work,  while  646  were  employed  in  the  transporting 
vessels.  From  the  racial  standpoint  5,365  were  whites, 
3,303  Indians,  2,206  Chinese,  and  1,873  Japanese. 
The  last-named  nationality  is  rapidly  replacing  the 
Chinese  in  the  canneries  and  salteries.  It  is  a  healthy 
sign  that  the  Alaskan  natives  are  taking  up  fishing  in 
increasing  numbers. 

A  Federal  law  to  protect  and  regulate  the  fisheries  of 
Alaska  was  enacted  by  Congress  in  1889,  but  it  proved 
ineffective  and  was  replaced  by  the  Act  of  June  30, 
1906.  The  present  law  levies  license  taxes  on  business 


ALASKAN    FISHERIES  127 

and  output;  makes  suitable  exemptions  for  salmon- 
fry  liberated;  forbids  obstructions  against  ascent  of 
fish  to  spawning  grounds;  limits  seine  and  other 
similar  appliances;  fixes  methods  and  times  of  fishing 
in  United  States  waters;  authorizes  preserves  for 
spawning  grounds;  forbids  canning  or  salting  of  fish 
over  two  days  dead;  makes  unlawful  the  wanton  de 
struction  of  fish;  proscribes  misbranding;  requires 
sworn  annual  reports  from  corporations;  and  author 
izes  the  Secretary  of  Commerce  and  Labor  to  formulate 
regulations  for  the  enforcement  of  the  act. 

It  may  be  added  that  by  the  law  of  June  14,  1906, 
aliens  are  prohibited  from  fishing  in  any  of  the  waters 
of  Alaska  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States. 

Salmon  Industry 

Apart  from  gold  mining  the  salmon  fishery  is  the 
overshadowing  industry  in  Alaska.  In  the  first  five 
years,  1878  to  1882,  the  output  was  less  than  12,000 
cases,  while  in  the  five  years,  1900  to  1905,  the  average 
pack  exceeded  2,100,000  cases  annually,  valued  at  over 
$6,000,000,  as  appears  from  Table  No.  7.  Until  the 
phenomenal  catch  of  1908  the  maximum  output, 
2,545,298  cases  (calculated  on  the  basis  of  48  pounds  to 
a  case)  was  in  1902,  which  at  an  estimated  value  of  $3 
a  case  aggregated  $7,635,894.  The  canneries  produced 
in  1905  1,907,967  cases,  valued  at  $6,304,671;  1906, 
2,246,989  cases,  worth  $7,896,392;  1907,  2,202,100, 
value  $8,786,366.  The  catch  of  1908  was  phenomenally 
large,  amounting  (on  the  basis  of  48  pounds  to  the  case) 
to  2,606,972  cases,  valued  at  $10,185,783;  this  is  the 


128       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

largest  catch  in  the  history  of  the  industry,  and  in  It 
were  engaged  13,337  employees. 

The  average  value  per  case,  estimated  in  this  account 
at  $3  prior  to  and  including  1904,  rose  from  $3.30  in 
1905  to  $3.51  in  1906,  and  $3.99  in  1907. 

The  five  species  of  salmon,  in  order  of  food  value, 
are,  1,  quinat;  2,  red;  3,  silver;  4,  humpback;  and  f>, 
dog.  The  quinat  is  called  king  in  Alaska,  chinook  on 
the  Columbia,  and  spring  on  the  Fraser.  Its  flesh  is 
superior  and  it  is  larger  than  other  species,  averaging 
twenty-two  pounds  at  maturity,  and  sometimes  react 
ing  100  pounds.  In  Alaska  the  principal  run  is  in  Ma)-, 
and  salmon  appear  in  large  numbers  in  the  following  first- 
class  rivers:  the  Yukon,  Stikine,  Taku,  Unuk,  Kusko 
kwim,  Speel,  Alsek, Whiting,  Copper,  Susitna,  Nushagak, 
and  Kvichak.  In  the  Yukon  some  king  salmon  ascend 
each  year  2,250  miles  to  Caribou  Crossing. 

The  red  salmon,  so  called  from  its  crimson  color 
when  about  to  spawn,  is  known  in  Fraser  River  as  the 
sockeye,  and  on  the  Columbia  as  the  blue-back.  At 
maturity  it  averages  about  seven  pounds,  but  its  dry, 
reddish,  most  compact  flesh  necessitates  long  boiling 
for  canning.  It  runs  chiefly  in  July,  and  ascends  the 
Yukon  1,800  miles  to  Fortymile  River.  It  always 
spawns  in  streams  which  head  in  a  lake.  Small  or 
dwarf  red  salmon  running  late  in  Cook  Inlet  are  locally 
called  "  arctic  salmon,"  and  such  also  run  in  Necker 
and  other  southern  bays.  The  four  greatest  of  the 
red-salmon  streams  are  the  Fraser,  Nushagak,  Kvichak, 
and  Karluk,  the  last,  in  proportion  to  its  water,  not- 
being  exceeded  in  the  world  as  to  its  fish. 


f*H 


1  I 

-"     I 

^        if 


ALASKAN    FISHERIES          129 

The  silver  salmon  resembles  the  red  salmon,  though 
its  flesh  is  paler  and  better  flavored.  Called  coho  in 
Puget  Sound,  it  is  canned  under  that  name,  or  as 
" medium  red."  It  runs  in  Alaska  from  August  15  to 
September  15,  though  it  can  be  taken  by  seine  through 
out  the  year  on  all  fishing  grounds. 

The  humpback  is  the  most  abundant  species  in 
Alaska. 

Prof.  D.  S.  Jordan,  an  authority  on  fishes,  says: 

It  exists  in  millions,  it  swarms  everywhere  in  waters 
near  the  sea — breeding  wherever  a  little  fresh  water 
can  be  found.  In  the  large  rivers  the  humpback 
rarely  runs,  and  it  is  therefore  almost  unknown  in  the 
Sacramento,  the  Columbia,  and  even  the  Fraser. 

The  plump,  silvery  dog  salmon,  known  also  as  calico 
salmon,  averages  ten  pounds.  Its  flesh  is  pale  and  is 
unsuitable  food  when  canned.  It  is,  however,  well 
flavored  when  fresh  and  is  exported  by  cold  storage  as 
well  as  salted. 

In  quantity  the  king  or  spring  salmon  forms  a  most 
inconsiderable  factor,  the  catch  being  less  than  one 
per  cent,  of  that  canned. 

A  comparatively  small  number  of  coho  or  silver 
salmon  is  caught,  about  3  per  cent,  in  1906  and  also 
in  1907,  while  the  dog  or  chum  salmon  fell  off  from  10 
per  cent,  in  1906  to  5  per  cent,  in  1907. 

The  great  bulk  of  the  salmon  fishery  consists  of  the 
red  or  sockeye,  which  formed  62  per  cent,  of  the  whole 
catch  in  1906  and  56  per  cent,  in  1907.  Fifty-six  per 
cent,  of  the  sockej^e  in  1906  were  caught  in  western 
Alaska,  i.  e.,  north  of  the  Alaskan  Peninsula ;  the  central 


130       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

region,  from  Yakutat  Bay  westward  to  Alaska  Pen 
insula,  furnished  31  per  cent.  In  1907  there  was  a 
small  relative  increase  in  the  central  district  and  a 
diminution  in  the  western  waters.  The  pack  of  red 
salmon  was  the  smallest  for  several  years  in  1907,  but 
whether  this  is  accidental  or  is  an  indication  of  over- 
catch  is  uncertain.  Doubtless  it  will  either  stimulate 
packers  or  the  United  States  to  proper  restrictions  in 
catch,  and  to  supplemental  means  of  the  artificial 
reproduction  of  this  most  valuable  species.  Amorg 
such  remedial  measures,  it  is  the  recommendation  of 
the  Commissioner  of  Fisheries  to  forbid  the  salting  of 
salmon  bellies  by  processes  that  waste  the  rest  of  the 
fish.  Beneficial  effects  are  also  anticipated  from  the 
law  of  June  28,  1906,  for  the  protection  and  regulation 
of  the  Alaskan  fisheries. 

The  humpback  or  pink  salmon  is  caught  almost  en 
tirely  in  southeastern  Alaska,  throughout  the  waters 
of  the  Inside  Passage.  While  it  formed  only  24  per 
cent,  of  the  entire  catch  in  1906,  it  had  increased  in 
1907  to  36  per  cent. 

Salmon  are  caught  in  Alaska  by  seine,  gill-net,  and 
trap,  in  the  order  named;  the  percentages  in  1907  being 
44,  32,  and  24  per  cent,  respectively.  As  compared 
with  the  preceding  year  there  was  a  falling  off  of  9 
per  cent,  in  the  catch  by  gill-nets  and  a  gain  of  6  per 
cent,  by  traps. 

That  there  is  ample  ground  for  economical  improve 
ment  in  the  salmon  industry  is  evident.  There  is  an 
enormous  waste  in  the  offal,  of  which  it  is  estimated 
that  35,000,000  pounds  were  thrown  overboard  in  a 


ALASKAN    FISHERIES          131 

single  season.  The  great  loss  may  be  estimated  from 
the  fact  that  each  ton  of  salmon  offal  will  produce 
some  400  pounds  of  fertilizer  and  about  20  gallons  of 
oil. 

The  prohibition  of  the  use  of  stationary  fishing  gear 
on  the  Nushagak  River,  and  the  closing  of  Wood  River 
to  commercial  fishing,  by  the  Secretary  of  Commerce 
and  Labor  on  January  1,  1908,  are  important  steps 
toward  securing  ready  access  for  salmon  to  their  spawn 
ing  grounds. 

Canneries  and  Salteries 

In  1907  there  were  operated  in  Alaska  45  canneries 
and  39  salteries,  of  which  there  were  in  southeastern 
Alaska  22  canneries  and  32  salteries;  in  the  central 
region  7  and  4,  and  in  the  western  district  16  and  3 
respectively.  In  1908  there  were  operated  50  canneries 
and  35  salteries.  The  most  important  canneries  as 
to  their  catch  were  at  Boca  de  Quadra,  Alsek  River, 
Dundas,  Kasaan,  and  Yakutat  Bays  in  southeastern 
Alaska;  at  Kasilof,  Uyak,  Alitak,  and  Karluk  in  central 
Alaska ;  and  on  LTgaguk,  Naknek,  and  Kvichak  Rivers, 
and  on  Nelson  Lagoon. 

The  salting  of  salmon,  begun  in  1868,  has  become  an 
important  industry.  It  increased  slowly  and  irregu 
larly  to  1887,  when  it  amounted  to  less  than  $40,000. 
It  reached  the  extraordinary  value  of  $272,648  in  1900, 
an  output  which  overstocked  the  market  and  seriously 
affected  the  trade.  In  1908  there  were  35  salmon 
salteries  which  put  up  35,949  barrels  and  6,247  half 
barrels. 


132       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

The  preserving  methods  have  since  been  radically 
changed,  and  in  1907  the  dry-salted  salmon  was  valued 
only  at  $1,505.  Pickling,  mild-curing,  smoking,  freez 
ing,  and  cold  storage  of  salmon  now  supplement  can 
ning.  The  total  output  under  these  curing  methods 
aggregated  $262,337  in  1906  and  $384,967  in  1907,  the 
marketed  fresh  salmon  amounting  to  $29,397  in  1907. 

The  value  of  all  salmon  caught  in  1908  was  $10,671,- 
651,  of  which  $485,868  pertains  to  other  than  canned 
salmon,  i.  e.}  to  salted,  mild-cured,  fresh,  etc. 

Hatcheries 

Pre visionary  and  timely  measures  have  been  adopted 
to  insure  continued  prosperity  in  the  salmon  fishery, 
by  guarding  against  undue  depletion  through  the  enc  r- 
mous  number  of  fish  canned  yearly.  The  initiation  and 
operation  of  salmon  hatcheries  were  due  to  the  private 
foresight  and  business  enterprise  of  Alaskan  packers. 

In  1906-1907  four  salmon  hatcheries  were  operated, 
the  Karluk  River  and  Fortmann  (Naha  Stream)  by  the 
Alaska  Packers  Association;  the  Klawak  Lake  by  the 
North  Pacific  Trading  and  Packing  Company;  and 
the  Yes  Lake  Hatchery  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of 
Fisheries.  They  took,  respectively,  the  following  mil 
lions  of  salmon  eggs:  Karluk,  39;  Fortmann,  105;  Yes 
Lake,  58;  and  Klawak,  4. 

The  establishment  of  the  Karluk  cannery  in  1891, 
which  released  500,000  fry  in  1892,  has  grown  into  a 
great  well-ordered  system,  which  released  174,000,000  of 
fry  in  1906.  The  output  in  millions  has  been  as  follows : 
1894,  2;  1895,  5;  1896,  5;  1897,  7;  1898,  10;  1899, 


ALASKAN    FISHERIES          133 

11;  1900,13;  1901,16;   1902,54;  1903,63;  1904,47; 
1905, 104;  1906, 105;  1907, 174;  and  in  1908,  over  200 

millions. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — Marsh  and  Cobb:  Fisheries  of  Alaska,  1905,  1906, 
1907,  and  1908  (Documents  603,  618,  632,  and  647,  U.  S.  Bureau  of 
Fisheries).  Jordan:  Salmon  and  Salmon  Streams  of  Alaska.  Moser: 
Alaska  Salmon  Investigations,  1900,  1901.  In  Bulletin  U.  S.  Fish 
Commission. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
ALASKAN  FISHERIES— THE  COD,  ETC. 

THE  cession  of  Alaska  to  the  United  States  immedi 
ately  stimulated  and  rendered  permanent  the  hitherto 
desultory  and  experimental  fishery  efforts,  and  the 
fleet  engaged  in  catching  cod  immediately  increased 
from  three  sail  in  1867  to  fourteen  in  1868,  all  from 
the  port  of  San  Francisco. 

The  great  distance  from  the  home  port  at  which  the 
fishery  was  conducted  proved  so  expensive  in  time  and 
money  that  the  policy  was  adopted  of  establishing  in 
Alaska  shore  stations,  from  which  fishermen  could 
operate  in  small  boats.  The  first  shore  station  was 
located  in  1876  at  Pirate  Cove,  in  the  Shumagin  group. 
In  1907  there  were  no  fewer  than  nineteen  such  stations, 
situated  on  the  following  islands:  Six  on  Unga,  four  on 
Sanak,  three  each  on  Guinak  and  Sagai,  two  on  Little 
Koniuji,  and  one  on  Popof.  These  stations  are  opera 
tive  the  entire  year.  The  fishermen  usually  go  out 
singly,  in  a  dory,  from  one  to  five  miles,  where  in  good 
weather  they  haul  trawl  lines  several  times  each  day. 
The  men  thus  employed  furnish  only  the  fishing  gear. 

In  fleet  operations  the  fishing  is  usually  by  hand  lines 
from  dories;  while  each  vessel  carries  a  dressing  gang, 
with  splitter  and  salter.  The  usual  bait,  both  shore 
and  ship,  is  halibut,  sculpin,  and  cuttle-fish. 

134 


ALASKAN    FISHERIES          135 

As  better  grounds — the  outer  banks — have  been  dis 
covered,  the  fish  prove  larger,  and  the  average  weight  of 
a  codfish  has  risen  from  2.8  pounds  in  1868  to  4  pounds 
in  1905. 

Systematic  work  was  commenced  by  the  Bureau  of 
Fisheries  in  1888  to  locate  and  survey  the  best  fishing 
grounds,  and  the  Albatross  in  the  next  four  seasons 
examined  and  plotted  many  codfish  banks,  of  which 
the  following  are  the  principal :  Slime,  Baird  or  Moller, 
and  Gravel,  all  in  Bering  Sea;  Davidson,  Albatross, 
Portlock,  Sannak,  and  Shumagin,  on  the  southern  side 
of  the  Alaskan  Peninsula. 

The  value  of  the  cod  catch,  from  year  to  year,  ap 
pears  in  Table  6,  but  the  fluctuation  in  the  market 
price  of  Alaskan  cod  has  varied  so  greatly  that  the 
tables  of  values  and  quantities  materially  differ.  The 
salted  weight  of  codfish  fell  from  842  short  tons  in  1868 
to  228  in  1874.  Rising  to  1,322  tons  in  1885,  it  has 
annually  exceeded  1,000  tons  since,  except  in  1899. 
It  rose  above  1,500  tons  for  four  years  and  its  increase 
has  been  steady,  though  irregular.  Of  late  years  the 
salted  product  has  been,  in  short  tons,  as  follows :  1900, 
3,034;  1901,  3,008;  1902,  4,500;  1903,  4,354;  1904, 
5,532;  1905,  6,062.  An  overstocked  market  and  bad 
season  combined  to  cause  a  great  falling  off  to  2,130 
tons  in  1906,  3,029  in  1907,  and  to  1,900  tons,  valued 
at  $134,775,  in  1908. 

Special  care  is  necessary  properly  to  cure  the  Alaskan 
cod  to  a  condition  equal  to  that  of  the  Atlantic  cod,  and 
neglect  in  the  past  has  militated  against  the  regular 
marketing  of  the  Alaskan  cod  in  the  great  fish-consum- 


136       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

ing  West  Indies.  The  establishment  of  fixed  standards 
and  their  rigid  maintenance  will  serve  to  increase  the 
use  of  the  Alaskan  cod,  of  which  the  catch  can,  it  is 
believed,  be  enormously  increased. 

To  benefit  further  and  render  permanent  the  valuable 
cod  fisheries  of  Alaska,  the  Commissioner  of  Fisheries  of 
the  United  States  has  recommended  that  a  national  hatch 
ery  be  established  on  one  of  the  Shumagin  Islands. 

Halibut  Fishery 

Although  limited  in  its  output,  as  compared  in  early 
years  with  the  cod  fishery  and  most  especially  as  to  the 
salmon  catch,  yet  the  halibut  is  an  important  and 
steadily  increasing  factor  in  the  productivity  of  Alaskan 
waters.  The  importance  of  the  halibut  catch  is  indi 
cated  by  the  statistics  for  1907,  which  show  that  the  in 
vested  capital  amounts  to  $16,917,  with  a  personnel  of 
591.  The  halibut  products  in  Alaskan  waters  for  that 
year  amounted  to  $238,751,  including  the  take  of  the 
Puget  Sound  fleet  there  fishing.  In  1908,  exclusive 
of  the  Puget  Sound  fleet,  it  was  valued  at  $175,742. 

At  shore  stations  the  men  are  paid  per  fish,  while  the 
fleet  fishery  is  conducted  on  shares.  Eighty  per  cent. 
of  the  halibut  are  packed  in  ice,  from  near-by  glaciers, 
and  so  marketed  fresh  in  the  Puget  Sound  ports  through 
passing  commercial  steamers,  on  which  freight  rates 
from  Juneau  to  Seattle  range  from  $7.50  to  $9  per  ton. 
About  ten  per  cent,  of  the  halibut  is  marketed  frozen, 
for  which  purpose  cold-storage  plants  have  been  built 
at  Tee  and  Taku  Harbors.  The  remainder  of  the 
catch  is  fletched  and  mostly  salted,  though  some  is 


ALASKAN    FISHERIES          137 

smoked  at  Juneau.  The  experimental  canning  of  the 
halibut  has  been  successful,  and  its  extensive  prosecu 
tion  in  the  future  seems  assured. 

Occasionally  halibut  weighing  from  200  to  250  pounds 
are  taken,  and  one  weighing  365  pounds  was  brought 
into  Juneau  in  1904.  One  of  the  catch  in  1907  had 
twenty-two  good-sized  herring  in  its  stomach.  It  is 
stated  that  females  have  well-developed  eggs  at  all 
seasons  of  the  year.  The  halibut  frequent  the  banks  of 
the  Inside  Passage  only  in  the  cold  months,  from 
October  to  March,  seeking  deeper  water  on  the  ap 
proach  of  warm  weather. 

The  detailed  catches  prior  to  1905  are  unavailable, 
but  from  1890  to  1904  inclusive  they  aggregate,  accord 
ing  to  Mr.  J.  N.  Cobb,  12,454  short  tons  of  the  value 
of  $772,658.  The  catch  and  value  in  late  years  are: 
1905,  2,360  tons,  $148,904;  1906,  2,100  tons,  $158,318; 
1907,  1,795  tons,  $140,751;  and  1908,  2,768  tons, 
$175,742.  To  these  values  should  also  be  added  the 
catch  of  the  Puget  Sound  fleet  in  Alaskan  waters, 
$80,881  in  1906,  and  $98,025  in  1907,  and  probably 
$100,000  in  1908. 

Halibut  fishing  is  conducted  both  from  shore  stations 
and  by  fleets,  power  and  sail.  Steam  trawlers  have 
proved  uneconomical,  although  trawls  are  largely  and 
successfully  used  by  fishermen  in  dories. 

Eighty  per  cent,  of  the  catch  is  from  shore  stations, 
which  are  established  on  the  shores  of,  or  adjacent  to, 
the  Inside  Passage  between  Ketchikan  and  Juneau,  in 
Frederick  Sound,  Icy,  Chatham,  Peril,  and  Summer 
Straits,  with  headquarters  at  Wrangell  Narrows. 


138       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

Thus  far  the  halibut  fishery  has  been  confined  to 
southeastern  Alaska,  where  its  output  is  thought  to 
have  reached  its  maximum,  and  the  extension  of  the 
halibut  industry  is  considered  probable  in  the  near 
future  to  Cook  Inlet  and  adjacent  large  banks,  and  to 
Bering  Sea. 

Herring  Fisheries 

The  herring  catch  has  been  confined  to  southeastern 
Alaska,  where  it  has  been  of  considerable  importance 
for  many  years,  though  in  late  seasons  there  have  been 
steadily  decreasing  outputs,  as  appears  from  in 
spection  of  Table  7. 

From  1901  to  1905  the  herring  products  averaged 
in  value,  including  oil  and  fertilizers,  more  than 
$100,000  annually,  with  a  maximum  of  $124,950  in 
1901.  Since  1883  the  entire  value  must  approximate 
$2,000,000,  as  incomplete  data  exceed  in  amount 
$1,750,000. 

The  decreased  catch  in  late  years  is  attributed  to  the 
persistent  over-fishing  by  nets  for  the  purpose  of  mak 
ing  fertilizers,  thus  breaking  up  schools  and  driving  the 
herring  into  deeper  water.  Out  of  the  1907  values  of 
$54,239,  44  per  cent,  of  the  herring  were  used  for  food, 
31  for  bait,  and  25  for  fertilizers.  Smoked  and  canned 
herring  are  being  experimentally  marketed,  and  the 
larger  use  of  this  excellent  fish  for  food  is  anticipated. 
The  total  value  of  herring  taken  in  1908  was  $69,250— 
food,  oil,  and  guano. 

Cobb,  in  his  report  to  the  United  States  Commissioner 
of  Fisheries,  says:  " There  is  no  question  but  that  the 


ALASKAN    FISHERIES          139 

herring  fisheries  of  Alaska  will  be  quite  important  in 
the  near  future." 

Fertilizers  and  Oil 

The  principal  fertilizer  plant  was  erected  at  Killisnoo,  of 
which,  in  their  report  of  1906,  Cobb  and  Kutchin  write: 

This  plant,  originally  built  to  handle  herring,  since 
1882  has  produced  4,281,420  gallons  of  oil,  valued  at 
$1,055,369,  and  29,319,800  pounds  of  fertilizer,  valued 
at  $349,349.  In  the  early  years  ...  the  vast  ma 
jority  of  fish  taken  were  herring,  but  of  late  years  .  .  . 
large  quantities  of  salmon  have  been  utilized. 

The  establishment  gives  employment  to  600  persons, 
half  of  them  Indians,  being  largely  dependent  upon  the 
work  and  wages.  It  would  seem  unfair  to  forbid  the 
plant  to  use  herring  unless  a  substitute  can  be  found. 

They  suggest  as  this  substitute  salmon  and  other 
fish  offal. 

The  Killisnoo  establishment  handled  in  1907,  33,700 
barrels  of  herring  and  salmon  against  61,500  barrels  in 
1906,  with  a  decreased  value  of  $19,126. 

It  is  evident  that  in  the  near  future  the  wise  provi- 
sionary  policy  of  conservation  of  resources  will  be  ap 
plied  to  Alaskan  fisheries,  where  the  utilization  of 
products  now  wasted  would  enormously  augment  the 
output  of  future  years. 

Trout 

Of  the  four  species  of  trout  in  Alaska,  the  Dolly 
Varden,  often  called  salmon  trout,  is  very  abundant, 
and  reaches  a  weight  of  ten  pounds.  It  is  found  in 
every  stream,  except  in  the  upper  Yukon  region;  is  a 


140       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

fine  game  fish;  and  affords  excellent  food,  but  is  only 
of  local  value  at  towns  where  it  may  be  eaten  fresh. 
The  Mackinaw  trout  abounds  in  the  lakes  of  the  upper 
Yukon  region;  frequently  reaches  a  weight  of  fifty 
pounds;  and  is  often  seen  in  the  markets  of  Dawson 
and  White  Horse.  Steelhead  trout,  weighing  from  tea 
to  fifteen  pounds,  are  taken  in  river  mouths,  and  are 
either  salted  or  marketed  by  cold  storage.  The  rain 
bow  trout  is  occasionally  found,  while  the  cut-throat 
trout,  averaging  about  three  pounds,  is  abundant  at 
Sitka  and  in  streams  farther  south. 

Miscellaneous  and  Minor  Fisheries 

Capelin  are  abundant  in  coastal  waters;  in  Sitka 
Bay  great  schools  appear  in  October. 

Eulachon,  or  candle  fish,  frequent  in  large  numbers 
the  river  mouths  and  bays  of  southeastern  Alaska  for 
brief  periods  in  May.  Large  schools  frequent  the  rivers 
of  Cook  Inlet  for  a  brief  stay.  On  Alaskan  Peninsula, 
at  Three  Star  Point,  they  strand  on  the  beach  in  such 
numbers  "that  the  bears  are  attracted  for  miles  around 
to  feed  on  them/7  The  natives  insert  a  wick  or  pith 
through  the  dried  fish,  which  is  so  oily  that  when  lighted 
it  burns  with  the  clearness  and  regularity  of  a  candle, 
hence  its  name. 

Smelt  run  annually  in  the  mouths  of  most  rivers.  In 
1906  a  shipment  of  500  pounds  to  New  York  City 
elicited  a  telegraphic  order  for  a  carload. 

Tomcod  very  abundant  in  fall  and  spring  in  Norton 
Sound,  furnishing  largely  the  food  supply  for  natives- 
dogs  as  well  as  men. 


ALASKAN    FISHERIES          141 

Atka  Mackerel,  so  called,  very  plentiful  along  the 
Aleutian  Isles,  where  they  largely  form  the  native  food 
supply. 

Lamprey  abound  in  the  Yukon  in  great  numbers. 
They  are  captured  by  the  natives  through  the  ice  and 
frozen  for  winter  dog  food. 

Dallia  pectoralis,  a  small,  very  fat  black  fish,  forms  as 
a  whole  the  principal  winter  food  of  the  natives  of  the 
Yukon  and  Kuskokwim  deltas.  Its  tried-out  pellucid 
oil  is  considered  a  greatly  relished  delicacy.  The 
method  of  obtaining  oil  is  described  by  Petroff  in  his 
"Report  on  Alaska/'  p.  61. 

Whitefish  are  most  abundant  in  the  rivers  flowing 
into  the  Bering  Sea.  Caught  in  ingenious  wicker- 
work  traps  by  the  Indians,  they  form  an  important  part 
of  the  winter  food. 

Boreogadus  saida  is  an  important  food  for  the  natives 
at  Point  Barrow,  while  to  the  east  the  tributaries  of  the 
Arctic  Sea  furnish  whitefish  and  the  Mackenzie  inconnu, 
which  sometimes  reaches  a  length  of  five  feet  and  a 
weight  of  fifty  pounds. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY.— Documents  603,  618,  632,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
TOURIST  TRIPS 

THERE  are  three  Alaskan  trips  that  can  be  especially 
recommended  to  tourists  from  the  stand-points  of 
time,  expense,  and  attractiveness.  The  Inside  Passage 
from  Seattle  to  Skagway  is  the  best  known,  the  short 
est,  and  most  largely  followed.  The  Prince  William 
Sound  and  the  Yukon-Nome  trips,  though  longer,  aro 
more  thoroughly  comprehensive  and  desirable.  The 
attractions  of  these  routes  are  here  set  forth:  for  fares 
see  Chapter  XXVII. 
To  intending  tourists  Gannett  humorously  says: 

If  you  are  old,  go  by  all  means ;  but  if  you  are  young, 
wait.  The  scenery  of  Alaska  is  much  grander  than 
anything  else  of  the  kind  in  the  world,  and  it  is  not  well 
to  dull  one's  capacity  by  seeing  the  finest  first. 

INSIDE  PASSAGE. 

The  Inside  Passage  is  the  local  name  applied  to  the 
coast  and  sheltered  water  ways  connecting  Seattle 
and  Skagway.  Emerging  from  Puget  Sound  the 
steamer  skirts  the  west  shore  of  Vancouver  Island, 
crosses  Queen  Charlotte  Sound,  again  seeks  the  quiet 
inside  waters  as  far  as  Dixon  Entrance,  whence  it 
passes  into  the  inland  channels  of  Alexander  Archi 
pelago.  Save  in  two  stretches  of  forty  and  twenty 

142 


TOURIST    TRIPS  143 

miles,  respectively,  there  is  no  opportunity  for  an 
ocean  swell.  This  extraordinary  comfort  of  naviga 
tion  is  enhanced  for  voyagers  by  a  continuity  of  fas 
cinating  landscapes,  of  the  most  varied  and  novel 
character.  John  Burroughs  tersely  describes  it  as  a 
thousand  miles  "through  probably  the  finest  scenery 
of  the  kind  in  the  world  that  can  be  seen  from  the 
deck  of  a  ship — the  scenery  of  fiords  and  mountain- 
locked  bays  and  arms  of  the  sea." 

Nine  fortunate  voyages  in  regular  steamers,  which 
are  scarcely  less  comfortable  than  the  excursion  boats, 
have  made  the  writer  familiar  with  external  aspects 
and  local  topography,  without,  however,  giving  him 
power  adequately  to  describe  or  correctly  to  classify 
its  moods  and  brilliancy,  its  majesty  and  beauty.  Suf 
fice  it  to  say,  that  during  each  of  these  four-day  voy 
ages  his  attention  was  steadily  engrossed  in  the  varied 
and  magnificent  landscapes  which  are  best  likened  to 
a  moving  panorama  of  nature's  masterpieces. 

Though  occasionally  touching  at  Vancouver,  the 
regular  steamer  ordinarily  makes  but  one  stop,  Port 
Townsend,  in  the  720  miles  from  Seattle  to  Ketchi- 
kan.  Thence  to  Skagway,  Wrangell  is  the  ordinary, 
Juneau  and  Tread  well  the  regular,  port  of  call.  The 
excursion  steamers,  which  carry  no  local  passengers, 
make  the  round  trip  in  eleven  days,  stopping  also  at 
Metlakatla,  Taku  Glacier,  Sitka,  and  occasionally  at 
other  points  of  interest,  as  may  be  scheduled. 

To  me  the  landscape  has  never  been  twice  alike, 
with  its  shifting  lights,  changing  seasons,  and  varying 
weather,  affording  the  same  pleasure  for  study  and 


144       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

observation  as  a  beautiful  woman  in  her  capricious 
moods.  Along  the  Alaskan  coast  the  elements  of  sea 
and  mountain,  of  glacier  and  forest,  of  crag  and  vege 
tation,  take  on  such  subtle  qualities  of  beauty  and 
tenderness,  of  grandeur  and  picturesqueness  as  to  be 
wilder  the  traveller  when  he  pauses  to  analyze  and 
compare. 

Yesterday,  the  Gulf  of  Georgia  entranced  with  its 
displays  of  form  and  color.  To-day,  the  rocky  shores, 
the  jagged  reefs,  and  swirling  currents  of  Seymour 
Narrows  appall.  To-night,  the  Greville  Reach  seems 
most  fascinating  of  all.  To-morrow,  the  beauties  cf 
Naha  Bay  will  seem  to  excel.  Then  with  crescendo 
emotions  one  absorbs  the  perfection  of  Wrangell  Nai- 
rows,  the  unsurpassable  views  of  Frederick  Sound, 
only  to  find  later  some  aspect  of  nobler  character  at 
Taku  Glacier  or  in  Lynn  Canal.  Description  is  be 
yond  the  powers  of  the  writer,  who  asks  attention  to 
a  few  words  from  gifted  lovers  of  nature. 

Mrs.  Higginson,  in  her  interesting  "Alaska,"  writes: 

Of  the  fiords  tributary  to  Millbank  Sound,  innumer 
able  cataracts  fall  sheer  and  foaming  down  their  great 
precipices;  the  narrow  canons  are  filled  with  their 
liquid,  musical  thunder,  and  the  prevailing  color,  the 
palest  green,  reflected  from  the  water  underneath  the 
beaded  foam. 

These  fiords  are  walled  to  a  great  height,  and  are  of 
magnificent  beauty.  Some  are  so  narrow  and  so 
deep  that  the  sunlight  penetrates  only  for  a  few  hours 
each  day — eternal  mist  and  twilight  fill  the  spaces. 
Covered  with  constant  moisture,  the  vegetation  is  of 
almost  tropical  luxuriance. 


TOURIST    TRIPS  145 

John  Burroughs,  in  the  "Harriman  Alaska  Expedi 
tion/'  says: 

A  scene  such  as  artists  try  in  vain  to  paint  and 
travellers  to  describe;  towering  snow-clad  peaks  far 
ahead  of  us,  rising  behind  dark  blue  and  purple  ranges, 
fold  on  fold  and  all  aflame  with  the  setting  sun.  The 
solid  earth  became  spiritual  and  transcendent. 

Miss  Scidmore,  one  of  nature's  keen  observers,  says: 

Of  all  the  lovely  spots  in  Alaska  commend  me  to 
the  little  land-locked  Naha  Bay,  where  the  clear, 
green  waters  are  stirred  with  the  leaping  of  thousands 
of  salmon,  and  the  shores  are  clothed  with  an  enchanted 
forest  of  giant  pines,  and  the  undergrowth  is  a  tangle 
of  ferns  and  salmon-berry  bushes.  Of  all  green  and 
verdant  woods  I  know  of  none  that  so  satisfy  one 
with  their  rank  luxuriance,  their  beauty,  and  pictu- 
resqueness. 

Again  Mrs.  Higginson  describes  a  notable  reach: 

In  Finlayson  Channel  the  forestation  is  a  solid 
mountain  of  green  on  each  side,  growing  down  to  the 
water.  The  reflections  are  so  brilliant  and  true  on 
clear  days,  that  the  dividing  line  is  not  perceptible 
to  the  vision.  The  mountains  rise  sheer  from  the 
water  to  a  great  height,  with  snow  upon  their  crests 
and  occasional  cataracts  foaming  musically  down  their 
fissures.  We  are  so  close  to  the  wooded  shores  that 
one  is  tormented  with  the  desire  to  reach  out  one's 
hand  and  strip  the  cool  green  cedar  needles  from  the 
drooping  branches. 

For  an  account  of  Taku  Glacier,  see  Chapter  XVIIL 

In  the  narrow  pass  beyond  Clarence  Strait  [says 
Miss  Scidmore]  the  waters  reflected  in  shimmering, 


146       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

pale  blue  and  pearly  lights  the  wonderful  panorama 
of  mountains.  The  first  ranges  above  the  water 
shaded  from  the  deep  green  and  russet  of  the  neaier 
pine  forests  to  azure  and  purple,  where  their  further 
summits  were  outlined  against  the  sky  or  the  snow- 
covered  peaks  that  were  mirrored  so  faithfully  in  tie 
long  stretches  of  the  channel. 

Miss  Scidmore  was  as  much  charmed  with  Wrangell 
Narrows  as  was  the  writer,  for  she  says: 

It  was  an  enchanting  trip  up  that  narrow  chanrel 
of  deep  water,  rippling  between  bold  island  shores  and 
parallel  mountain  walls.  Beside  the  clear,  emerald 
tide,  reflecting  every  tree  and  rock,  there  was  the  beauty 
of  foaming  cataracts  leaping  down  the  sides  of  snow 
capped  mountains,  and  the  grandeur  of  great  glaciers 
pushing  down  through  sharp  ravines  and  dropping 
miniature  icebergs  in  the  sea.  Touched  by  the  last 
light  of  the  sun  Patterson  Glacier  was  a  frozen  lake  of 
wonderland,  shimmering  with  silvery  lights,  and  show 
ing  a  pale  ethereal  green  and  deep  pure  blue  in  all  the 
rifts  and  crevices  of  its  icy  front. 

Through  Wrangell  Narrows  one  emerges  from  scenes 
of  quiet  beauty  into  a  domain  of  impressive  grandeur. 
The  attention  of  most  tourists  is  here  drawn  entirely 
to  glacial  wonders  (see  Chapter  XVIII),  to  the  ex 
clusion  of  the  more  general  features  of  this  region, 
which  present  in  unique  harmony  high  peaks,  deep 
fiords,  great  mountain  masses,  extended  sweeps  of 
ocean,  and  vast  ice-caps.  Burroughs  simply  says: 
"We  sailed  under  cloudless  skies  along  Frederick 
Sound,  feasting  our  eyes  upon  the  vast  panorama  of 
encircling  mountains."  These  interwoven  elements  of 


TOURIST    TRIPS  147 

mountain  and  sea,  of  fiord  and  glacier  continue  until 
one  passes  the  serrated  cliffs  of  Lynn  Canal  and  reaches 
Skagway,  the  end  of  the  Inside  Passage. 

The  present  commercial  importance  of  Skagway, 
the  terminus  of  the  Inside  Passage,  depends  almost 
entirely  on  the  operations  of  the  White  Pass  and 
Yukon  Railway,  which  has  there  established  its  head 
quarters,  repair  shops,  etc.  The  town  has  a  popula 
tion  of  about  1,200,  is  provided  with  cable,  telephonic, 
and  telegraphic  service,  is  electrically  lighted,  has  good 
schools,  churches,  well-stocked  stores,  attractive  homes, 
and  good  gardens.  Picturesquely  situated  in  an 
amphitheatre  surrounded  by  high  and  usually  snow 
capped  mountains,  Skagway  is  the  best-known  town 
in  Alaska.  It  will  live  in  history  as  the  base  of  opera 
tions  for  thousands  of  adventurous  prospectors  dur 
ing  the  Klondike  excitement  of  1897-1898.  Skag 
way  is  a  pleasant  base  for  excursions  for  the  lover  of 
the  picturesque,  the  admirer  of  scenery,  the  student 
of  natural  history  or  ethnographical  subjects.  Rea 
sonably  near  are  the  Chilkat  and  Chilkoot  villages, 
with  their  native  hats,  baskets,  and  blankets.  Over 
the  White  Pass,  by  rail,  through  scenery  of  beauty  and 
grandeur,  and  along  the  way  once  marked  by  scenes 
of  human  misery  and  courage,  one  reaches  in  a  few 
hours  the  lake  sources  of  the  Yukon.  Near  by  also  are 
the  glaciers  of  Davidson,  Mendenhall,  and  others, 
which  will  richly  repay  a  visit.  Along  the  foaming 
rapids  of  Skagway  River,  with  its  flowery  banks,  or 
up  the  winding  paths  to  the  mountain  forests,  the 
flowery  glades,  and  sylvan  lakes,  there  is  surprise 


148       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

upon  surprise  at  the  delights  and  beauties  that  hourly 
break  in  on  one,  while  wandering  in  the  delicious  sum 
mer  weather  of  the  Alaskan  wonderland. 

PRINCE  WILLIAM  SOUND 

The  Inside  Passage  is  wonderfully  attractive,  but  it 
yields  in  grandeur  of  beauty  to  the  Prince  William 
Sound  route,  which  should  always  be  taken,  via  Juneau, 
unless  want  of  time  absolutely  forbids.  One  thus  sees 
the  best  of  the  Inside  Passage,  from  Seymour  Narrows 
to  Juneau,  branching  westward  from  the  last-named 
town  to  Sitka,  and  thence  along  the  incomparable 
Fairweather  Range  to  the  crowning  mountain  glory, 
St.  Elias,  and  westward,  from  Yakutat  Bay  to  Valdez, 
the  wonderful  Columbia  Glacier  and  its  sisters  of 
Harriman  Fiord.  Thence  to  Resurrection  Bay,  the 
Kenai  Peninsula,  and  Cook  Inlet,  is  the  end  of  this 
voyage,  which  can  be  extended  to  the  westward  by 
another  steamer.  (See  Chapter  XXII.) 

With  comfort  and  clearness  one  views  from  Cross 
Sound  to  Cook  Inlet  a  series  of  lofty  mountains,  ex 
tensive  snow-fields,  great  glaciers  (the  Malaspina  skirts 
the  sea  for  nearly  seventy  miles),  and  forest-lined 
cliffs,  such  scenery  as  cannot  be  elsewhere  matched 
in  the  world  in  the  same  area  and  distance.  (For 
mountains  and  glaciers,  see  Chapters  XVIII,  XIX.) 

The  writer's  experiences  were  akin  to  those  of  John 
Muir,  who  says: 

The  sail  down  the  coast  from  St.  Elias  along  the 
magnificent  Fairweather  Range,  when  every  mountain 


TOURIST    TRIPS  149 

stood  transfigured  in  divine  light,  was  the  crowning 
grace  and  glory,  and  must  be  immortal  in  the  remem 
brance  of  every  soul  of  us. 

Of  Yakutat  Bay,  Mrs.  Higginson  says: 

To  the  very  head  of  Russell  Fiord  supreme  splendor 
of  scenery  is  encountered,  surpassing  the  most  vaunted 
of  the  Old  World.  Within  a  few  miles,  one  passes  from 
luxuriant  forestation  to  lovely  lakes,  lacy  cascades, 
bits  of  green  valley;  and  then  of  a  sudden,  all  unpre 
pared,  into  the  most  sublime  snow-mountain  fastnesses 
imaginable,  surrounded  by  glaciers  and  many  of  the 
most  majestic  mountain  peaks  of  the  world. 

Of  Prince  William  Sound,  to  the  west,  John  Bur 
roughs  writes: 

Our  route  was  a  devious  one :  past  islands  and  head 
lands,  then  over  the  immense  expanse  of  the  open 
water,  with  a  circle  of  towering  snow-capped  moun 
tains  far  off  along  the  horizon;  then  winding  through 
arms  and  straits,  close  to  tree-tufted  islands  and  steep 
spruce-clad  mountains;  now  looking  between  near-by 
dark-forested  hills  upon  a  group  of  distant  peaks 
white  as  midwinter;  then  upon  broad,  low- wooded 
shores,  with  glimpses  of  open  meadowlike  glades 
among  the  trees. 

The  striking  features  of  the  Sound  region  are  set 
forth  in  the  chapter  on  glaciers  (XVIII),  the  wondrous 
splendor  being  that  of  Harriman  Fiord.  This  fiord  in 
dents  the  northeast  shore  of  Kenai  Peninsula,  a  land 
of  9,000  square  miles  in  area  that  is  a  sealed  book  to  the 
ordinary  tourist.  To  the  Cook  Inlet  visitor,  however, 
its  thousand  miles  of  bold  coast  present  magnificent 
scenery — high  mountains,  rugged  summits,  deep-cut 


150       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

valleys,  and  numerous  glaciers.  Invaded  for  fur,  for 
fish,  for  coal,  and  now  for  gold,  its  chief  charm  lies  in 
its  mountain  fastnesses,  with  their  abundant  game  and 
opportunity  of  adventure. 

Writing  of  the  scenery  of  the  interior  of  Kenai,  Colo 
nel  Caine,  the  English  sportsman,  says: 

The  view  was  sublime.  To  our  right  the  enormous 
glacier,  from  which  this  branch  of  Indian  River  issues, 
filled  up  the  whole  of  the  head  of  the  deep  valley,  the 
precipitous  sides  of  which  fell  almost  perpendicularly 
to  its  foot  in  cliffs  a  thousand  feet  high,  till  it  met  the 
skyline  ten  miles  away.  Beyond  the  gorge  mountain 
after  mountain  stretched  away  as  far  as  eye  could 
reach,  with  a  glimpse  between  two  peaks  of  another 
glacier. 

The  extension  of  the  Copper  River  Railway  also 
bring  within  tourist  reach  the  glaciers  of  the  lower 
Copper,  and  the  fascinating  wilderness  of  volcanic 
Wrangell  and  the  adjacent  mountains. 

THE  YUKON  JOURNEY 

The  journey  of  fullest  interest  is  the  trip  from 
Seattle  to  Skagway,  Dawson,  Fairbanks,  Nome,  and 
back  to  Seattle  by  sea.  One  thus  sees  the  Inside 
Passage,  the  Canadian  Klondike,  the  great  valley  of 
the  Yukon,  the  Fairbanks  mines,  the  Nome  gold- 
fields,  views  of  McKinley,  and,  if  fortunate,  a  glimpse 
of  the  volcanic  peaks  of  Unimak.  The  only  draw 
back  is  the  time,  from  thirty  to  forty  days,  for  the 
journey  is  made  with  comfort,  safety,  and  at  moderate 
expense. 


TOURIST    TRIPS  151 

The  lakes  of  the  source  of  the  Lewes,  the  great  gorges 
and  rapids  of  the  upper  Yukon,  the  elaborate  mining 
plants  of  the  Klondike,  the  midnight  sun  of  Fort 
Yukon,  the  grand  views  of  the  Alaskan  and  McKinley 
Ranges,  the  Indians'  village  of  Nulato,  and  others,  the 
mission  of  Holy  Cross,  the  Esquimaux  of  the  Yukon 
Delta,  the  darkless  and  genial  days  as  one  glides 
down  the  Great  River,  the  glimpses  of  Nome  and 
its  environs,  are  unique  scenes  which  impress  even 
the  least  sensitive,  and  remain  long  in  the  memory. 

Nor  is  the  scenery  of  the  delta  country  entirely  de 
void  of  beauty — to  the  writer  being  most  impressive. 
Mr.  A.  H.  Brooks,  in  his  valuable  "  Geography  and 
Geology  of  Alaska,"  thus  describes  it: 

The  mighty  river,  with  its  dark  yellow  waters,  is 
not  without  its  grandeur,  and  the  rounded  valley 
slopes,  dotted  with  spruce  and  deciduous  trees,  are 
not  without  picturesqueness.  .  .  .  Inland,  the  moss 
and  grass  covered  lowlands  stretch  almost  unbroken 
to  the  horizon,  except  for  distant,  rounded  highland 
masses,  while  seaward  there  is  no  break  in  the  lowland 
and  its  smooth  surface  merges  with  the  plains  of  the 
sea. 

Nowhere  else  does  there  seem  to  be  the  same  im 
mensity  of  space  and  sense  of  quietude,  which  bring 
one  near  to  God  and  to  the  heart  of  the  universe. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — Scidmore:  Alaska,  the  Sitkan  Archipelago.  Hig- 
ginson:  Alaska.  Schwatka:  Along  Alaska's  Great  River.  Burroughs 
in  the  Harriman  Alaska  Expedition. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
GLACIER  REGIONS 

OF  all  the  attractions  of  Alaska  the  neve  fields,  with 
the  various  forms  and  awe-inspiring  action  of  living 
glaciers,  most  impress  and  interest  the  tourist.  This, 
despite  the  fact  that  the  most  extensive  and  striking 
glaciers  are  not  seen  by  the  summer  visitors,  who  very 
rarely  extend  their  excursions  to  the  surpassingly 
wonderful  regions  of  Yakutat  Bay  and  Prince  William 
Sound.  From  year  to  year,  however,  the  number  of 
visiting  students  and  sightseers  must  steadily  increase 
along  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Alaska,  where  glaciers 
far  surpassing  those  of  Europe  are  accessible  with  the 
utmost  comfort,  at  moderate  expense,  and  by  sea 
voyages  of  three  or  four  days. 

The  high  and  sharply  uprising  mountains  of  Brit 
ish  Columbia  and  southeastern  Alaska  are  the  re 
cipients  of  heavy  snowfalls  from  the  moisture-laden 
ocean  winds,  and,  in  consequence,  the  loftier  peaks 
and  valleys  are  ice-laden  with  small  glaciers.  These 
are  of  various  types,  the  Alpine,  the  valley,  or  the  over 
hanging  Piedmont  ice  sheets  covering  and  projecting 
from  shelves  on  the  mountain  sides. 

As  one  passes  Wrangell  the  glacier  formations  in 
crease  in  extent,  and  pushing  down  the  mountains 
many  approach  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  numerous 
and  deeply  penetrating  fiords  usually  terminate  in 

152 


GLACIER    REGIONS  153 

gorges,  which  are  filled  with  rivers  of  moving  ice. 
They  are  mostly  dead  glaciers,  retreating  and  vanish 
ing  from  year  to  year,  under  changing  conditions 
which  cut  them  off  from  their  functions  as  live  glaciers, 
of  discharging  ice  masses  into  the  open  sea. 

In  Le  Conte  Bay,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Stikine 
River,  is  the  most  southerly  of  the  live  glaciers,  de 
bouching  from  a  narrow  fiord  whose  rocky  walls  rise 
from  4,000  to  5,000  feet  within  a  few  miles. 

Some  distance  farther  to  the  north,  in  Stephens 
Passage,  are  two  beautiful  ice  fiords,  Holkham  or 
Sumdum  and  Taku. 

Of  the  Sumdum  Bay,  which  he  considers  one  of  the 
most  interesting  of  all  the  Alaskan  fiords,  Muir  says: 

A  hundred  or  more  glaciers  of  the  second  and  third 
class  may  be  seen  along  the  wralls,  and  about  as  many 
snowy  cataracts,  which,  with  the  plunging  bergs,  keep 
all  the  fiord  in  a  roar.  The  scenery  in  both  the  long 
arms  of  the  bay  and  their  side  branches  is  of  the  wild 
est  description,  especially  in  their  upper  reaches, 
where  the  granite  walls,  streaked  with  waterfalls,  rise 
in  sheer  massive  precipices,  like  those  of  Yosemite 
Valley,  to  a  height  of  3,000  and  even  over  4,000  feet. 

Of  her  early  visit  to  Taku,  Miss  Scidmore  writes: 

That  day  on  the  Taku  Glacier  will  live  forever  as 
one  of  the  rarest  and  most  perfect  enjoyment.  The 
grandest  objects  in  nature  were  before  us,  the  primeval 
forces  that  mould  the  face  of  the  earth  were  at  work, 
and  it  was  all  so  out  of  the  everyday  world  that  we 
might  have  been  walking  a  new  planet,  fresh  fallen 
from  the  Creator's  hand. 

Of  Taku   Inlet,   with   its   forty-five    ice   streams, 


154       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

great  and  small,  John  Muir  writes  of  the  discharging 
glacier : 

It  comes  sweeping  forward  in  majestic  curves  and 
pours  its  countless  roaring,  plunging  masses  into  a 
western  branch  of  the  inlet,  next  the  Taku  River. 
Thus  we  have  here  in  one  view,  flowing  into  the  sea, 
side  by  side,  a  river  of  ice  and  a  river  of  water,  bo  th 
abounding  in  cascades  and  rapids,  yet  infinitely  diffc  r- 
ent  in  their  rate  of  motion  and  in  the  songs  they  sing — 
a  rare  object  lesson,  worth  coming  far  to  learn. 

The  true  glacier  region  begins  to  the  west  of  Lynn 
Canal,  along  the  shores  of  which,  however,  are  most 
beautiful  dead  glaciers,  such  as  Davidson  and  Menden- 
hall,  and  from  Cross  Bay  north.  The  extreme  south 
ern  limit  has  been  known  to  many  tourists  through 
the  excursions  in  former  years,  before  the  convulsions 
of  nature  largely  disintegrated  many  of  the  glaciers,  es 
pecially  the  Muir  Glacier. 

Kate  Field  thus  described  this  great  ice-stream: 

Imagine  a  glacier  three  miles  wide  and  three  hundred 
feet  high,  and  you  have  a  slight  idea  of  Muir  Glacier. 
Picture  a  background  of  mountains  fifteen  thousand 
feet  high,  all  snow-clad,  and  then  imagine  a  gorgeous 
sun  lighting  up  the  ice  crystals  with  rainbow  coloring. 
The  face  of  the  glacier  takes  on  the  hue  of  aquamarine— 
the  hue  of  every  bit  of  floating  ice  that  surround  the 
steamer.  This  dazzling  serpent  moves  sixty-four  feet 
a  day,  tumbling  headlong  into  the  sea,  startling  the 
ear  with  submarine  thunder. 

Doubtless  the  most  remarkable  for  its  extent,  equal 
in  area  to  the  State  of  Rhode  Island,  and  of  unsurpassed 
beauty  in  itself  and  its  surroundings,  this  great  glacier 


GLACIER    REGIONS  155 

and  its  companions  are  now  rarely  visited,  owing  to 
the  dangers  of  navigation  within  Glacier  Bay.  Of  the 
Muir  Glacier  Miss  Scidmore  writes  of  her  last  view: 

The  whole  brow  was  transfigured  with  the  fires  of 
sunset;  the  blue  and  silvery  pinnacles,  the  white  and 
shining  front  floating  dreamlike  on  a  roseate  and 
amber  sea,  and  the  range  and  circle  of  dull  violet 
mountains  lifting  their  glowing  summits  into  a  sky 
flecked  with  crimson  and  gold. 

From  Glacier  Bay  north  to  the  Wrangell  Range,  and 
westward  to  Kenai  Peninsula,  about  500  by  100  miles 
in  extent,  is  the  area  of  greatest  glacial  abundance, 
fully  nine-tenths  of  the  ice  of  this  continent  being 
found  therein.  Here  are  twenty-five  of  the  thirty- 
one  known  live  glaciers,  eleven  in  the  Fairweather 
Range  (two  in  Lituya  and  nine  in  Glacier  Bay),  three 
in  the  St.  Elias  region,  and  eleven  in  Prince  William 
Sound.  As  shown  in  Table  5  there  are  170  glaciers 
of  such  importance  or  interest  as  to  be  named. 

In  the  St.  Elias  region  is  the  Malaspina  Glacier,  of 
enormous  extent,  being  about  twenty  by  sixty  miles 
in  area,  and  separated  from  the  sea  by  a  strip  of  forested 
moraines  five  to  six  miles  wide,  except  where  its  mag 
nificent  ice  cliffs  enter  the  sea  at  Icy  Cape. 

Of  the  remarkable  surroundings  of  the  noble  Gard 
iner  Greene  Hubbard  Glacier,  a  most  active  ice  river 
three  miles  wide,  Muir  writes: 

The  scenery  about  the  head  of  Disenchantment  Bay 
is  gloriously  wild  and  sublime,  majestic  mountains 
and  glaciers,  barren  moraines,  bloom-covered  islands 
amid  icy,  swirling  waters,  enlivened  by  screaming  gulls, 


156       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

hair  seals,  and  rearing  bergs.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
beauty  of  the  southern  extension  of  the  bay  is  tran 
quil  and  restful  and  perfectly  enchanting.  Its  shores, 
especially  on  the  east  side,  are  flowery  and  finely 
sculptured,  and  the  mountains,  of  moderate  height, 
are  charmingly  combined  and  reflected  in  the  quiet 
waters. 

Prince  William  Sound  is,  however,  the  most  remark 
able  region  for  glacial  phenomena  and  living  glaciers. 
With  Valdez  as  a  base,  it  offers  opportunities  for  glacial 
study  and  observation  unsurpassed  elsewhere.  Since 
the  discoveries  of  the  Harriman  Expedition  in  College 
and  Harriman  Fiords,  it  offers  eleven  known  living 
glaciers  in  Prince  William  Sound,  of  which  the  mo»t 
remarkable  for  size  and  beauty  are:  Columbia,  about 
four  miles  wide,  300  feet  high;  Harvard,  Yale,  Serpen 
tine,  Harriman,  and  Surprise. 

Of  Prince  William  Sound  Muir  writes: 

All  the  fiords  into  which  glaciers  of  the  first  class  flow 
are  encumbered,  some  of  them  jammed  and  crowded, 
with  bergs  of  every  conceivable  form,  which,  by  the 
most  active  of  the  glaciers,  are  given  off  at  intervals 
of  a  few  minutes  with  loud  thundering  roaring  that 
may  be  heard  five  or  six  miles,  proclaiming  the  rest 
less  work  and  motion  of  these  mighty  crystal  rivers, 
so  widely  contrasting  with  the  deathlike  stillness  and 
silence  of  the  second-class  decadent  glaciers. 

Of  Harriman  Fiord,  Muir  adds: 

It  is  full  of  glaciers  of  every  description,  waterfalls, 
gardens,  and  grand  old  forests — nature's  best  and 
choicest  Alpine  treasures  purely  wild.  Here  we  camped 
in  the  only  pure  forest  of  mountain  hemlock  I  ever 


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GLACIER    REGIONS  157 

saw,  the  most  beautiful  of  evergreens,  growing  at  sea- 
level,  some  of  the  trees  over  three  feet  in  diameter 
and  nearly  a  hundred  feet  high. 

Muir  considers  Columbia  equally  as  imposing  though 
less  active  than  Muir  Glacier.  In  the  writer's  opinion, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  glacier  more  beautiful  to 
the  ordinary  visitor  than  the  Columbia,  with  its  enor 
mous  mass  and  its  wealth  of  color  and  form.  Its 
striking  background  is  offset  by  the  frontal  environ 
ment  of  flowery  meads  and  noble  trees.  Few  of  the 
glaciers  seen  by  the  writer  in  the  north  surpass  it  in 
majesty,  and  none  equal  it  in  attractiveness  of  sur 
roundings. 

Mrs.  Higginson,  in  her  interesting  " Alaska,"  says: 

When  seen  under  favorable  conditions,  the  [Free- 
mantle,  renamed  the]  Columbia  Glacier  is  the  most 
beautiful  thing  in  Alaska.  One  may  have  seen  glaciers 
upon  glaciers,  yet  not  be  prepared  for  the  splendor  and 
magnificence  of  the  one  that  palisades  the  northern 
end  of  this  (Columbia)  bay. 

The  glacier  has  a  frontage  of  about  four  miles,  and 
its  glittering  palisades  tower  upward  to  a  height  of 
from  three  to  four  hundred  feet. 

In  ordinary  light,  the  front  of  the  glacier  is  beautifully 
blue.  It  is  a  blue  that  is  never  seen  in  anything  save 
a  glacier  or  a  floating  iceberg — a  pale,  pale  blue,  that 
seems  to  flash  out  fire  with  every  movement.  At  sun 
set  its  beauty  holds  one  spellbound.  It  sweeps  down 
magnificently  from  the  snow-peaks  which  form  its  fit 
setting  and  pushes  out  into  the  sea  in  a  solid  wall  of 
spired  and  pinnacled  opal  which,  ever  and  anon  break 
ing  off,  flings  over  it  clouds  of  color  which  dazzle  the 
eyes.  At  times  there  is  a  display  of  prismatic  colors. 


158       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

Across  the  front  grow,  fade,  and  grow  again,  the  moet 
beautiful  rainbow  shadings. 

Of  the  glaciers  of  the  interior  two  may  be  briefly 
mentioned,  the  Harvey,  two  by  eight  miles  in  size;, 
and  the  Fidele,  both  in  the  Mt.  McKinley  region.  Of 
the  latter,  Cook  writes: 

The  lower  edge  is  seven  and  a  half  miles  in  width, 
its  length  forty  miles.  The  lower  ten  miles  are  S3 
thoroughly  weighted  down  by  broken  stone  that  no 
ice  is  visible.  It  is  thus  the  largest  interior  glacier 
of  Alaska,  and  it  probably  carries  more  moraine  mate 
rial  than  any  other  glacier  in  the  world. 

Of  the  life  of  the  glaciers,  Prof.  George  Davidson,  in 
his  " Glaciers  of  Alaska,"  says: 

There  has  been  a  general  recession  of  the  glaciers 
through  the  Aleutian  Islands,  the  Peninsula  of  Alaska, 
and  from  Cook's  Inlet  to  Portland  Canal;  except  where 
they  come  directly  or  almost  directly  upon  the  broad 
ocean. 

The  evidence  of  advance  seems  clear  at  Taylor  Bay, 
just  inside  Cape  Spencer,  at  Icy  Strait,  since  the  survey 
of  Whidbey;  but  the  recent  topographical  survey  by 
the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  shows  a 
retreat  behind  the  terminal  moraine  which  it  has  left 
as  a  record. 

The  Malaspina  Glacier  has  filled  and  obliterated  the 
Icy  Bay  of  Vancouver  and  Tebenkof;  the  recent 
Canadian  survey  indicates  that  the  glaciers  of  Lituya 
Bay  have  shortened  the  deep  arms  described  by  La 
Perouse;  and  the  La  Perouse  Glacier  upon  the  ocean 
shore  shows  positive  signs  of  advance  according  to  the 
reports  of  the  Harriman  Expedition  of  1899. 

Nevertheless,  in  this  region  of  advance  the  immense 


GLACIER    REGIONS  159 

ice  blockade  at  the  head  of  Yakutat  Bay,  so  well  de 
picted  by  Malaspina  and  confirmed  by  Tebenkof,  has 
been  carried  away,  and  the  Turner  and  Hubbard 
Glaciers  now  discharge  into  the  sharp  bend  of  the  fiord 
at  the  head  of  the  bay. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — Muir:  Notes  on  Pacific  Coast  Glaciers.  (Harriman 
Alaska  Expedition,  v.  1.)  Davidson:  Glaciers  of  Alaska  on  Russian 
Charts. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
MOUNTAINS  AND  VOLCANOES 

IN  his  nature  studies,  Ruskin  says  of  great  mountains : 

They  divide  the  earth,  not  only  into  districts,  but 
into  climates;  and  cause  perpetual  currents  of  air  to 
traverse  their  passes  in  a  thousand  different  states; 
moistening  it  with  the  spray  of  their  waterfalls,  closing 
it  within  clefts  and  caves,  where  the  sunbeams  never 
reach,  till  it  is  as  cold  as  November  mists;  then  send 
ing  it  forth  again  to  breathe  lightly  across  the  slopes 
of  velvet  fields,  or  to  be  scorched  among  sun-burnt 
shales  and  grassless  crags;  then  drawing  it  back  in 
moaning  swirls  through  clefts  of  ice,  and  up  into  dewy 
wreaths  above  the  snow-fields. 

The  beauty  and  force  of  this  description  must  strongly 
appeal  to  those  who  have  visited  the  stupendous  land 
masses — the  Fairweather,  the  St.  Elias,  the  Wrangell, 
the  McKinley,  and  the  Alaskan  mountain  ranges— 
which  extend  in  an  immense  semicircle  of  more  than 
a  thousand  miles  from  the  Sitkan  region  to  the  end 
of  the  Alaskan  Peninsula. 

In  their  abrupt  rise  from  the  sea,  in  their  length  as 
an  uninterrupted  mountain  chain,  in  their  contiguous 
areas  of  luxuriant  vegetation  and  utter  desolation,  in 
their  striking  contrasts  of  volcanic  lava  and  arctic 
snows,  in  the  extent  of  their  overlying  and  debouching 
glaciers — the  Alaskan  mountains  offer  wondrous  as- 

160 


MOUNTAINS  161 

pects  of  nature,  unmatched  within  an  equal  area  by 
any  other  mountain  masses  of  the  world. 

Nor  are  all  Alaskan  mountains  of  one  class  or  of 
uniform  pattern.  The  routine  tourist  sees  the  forested 
purple-peaked  and  snow-touched  mountains  of  the 
Inside  Passage,  and  the  smooth-based,  naked  sierras 
of  Lynn  Canal.  Beyond  lie  other  and  more  striking 
types:  the  towering  summits  of  ice-clad  Fairweather, 
the  jagged-peaked,  ice-beset  St.  Elias  Alps,  the  huge 
mass  of  Wrangell,  the  graceful,  rounded  green  slopes 
of  Kodiak,  the  symmetrical  volcanic  cone  of  Pavlof, 
and  the  majestic  snow-crowned  American  monarch — 
McKinley. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  these  grand  and  awe- 
inspiring  mountain  landscapes  are  inaccessible  to  the 
ordinary  traveller,  or  even  difficult  of  access.  They 
are  all  reached  in  brief  time  and  under  comfortable 
conditions  (see  Chapter  XXVII),  except  Mt.  McKinley, 
of  which  distant  and  beautiful  views  are  had  from 
Fairbanks  and  the  Tanana  River. 

There  are  four  important  mountain  ranges,  supple 
mented  by  subordinate  groups.  Except  the  volcanic 
Aleutian  Range  they  are  mountains  of  recent  crustal 
uplift,  modified  by  erosion. 

The  Rocky  Mountain  extension  crosses  northern 
Alaska  as  the  Endicott  Range,  nearly  parallel  with 
and  about  200  miles  inland  from  the  Arctic  Ocean. 
It  decreases  in  elevation  from  about  8,000  feet  near 
the  Canadian  frontier  to  1,000  feet  at  Kotzebue  Sound. 

The  Coast  Range,  consisting  of  the  Fairweather  and 
St.  Elias  Mountains,  has  a  mean  altitude  exceeding 


162       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

10,000  feet,  and  includes  within  its  limits  the  most 
remarkable  and  extended  glacier  fields  in  America. 
Though  of  higher  average  elevation  than  the  St.  Elias 
group,  the  Fairweather  Range  is  of  more  limited  area. 
Its  principal  peaks  are  La  Perouse,  10,740  feet,  Lituya, 
11,832,  and  Fairweather,  15,292  feet,  all  rising,  as  it 
were,  from  the  very  sea,  their  steep  declivities  covered 
by  great  glacial  sheets.  The  beauty  and  splendor  of 
these  mountains  are  beyond  description,  and  in  the 
mind  of  the  writer  unsurpassable.  Mrs.  Higginscn 
writes  of  them: 

In  all  the  splendor  of  the  drenched  sunlight,  straight 
out  of  the  violet  sparkling  sea,  rose  the  magnificent 
peaks  of  the  Fairweather  Range  and  towered  against 
the  sky.  No  great  snow  mountains  rising  from  the 
land  have  ever  affected  me  as  did  that  long  and  noble 
chain  glistening  out  of  the  sea. 

However,  the  St.  Elias  Range  is  still  more  remark 
able  through  its  combination  of  glacial  fields  and 
mountain  masses.  There  are  in  this  range  nine  peaks 
whose  elevation  exceeds  10,000  feet — Augusta,  Cook, 
Hubbard,  Huxley,  Logan,  Newton,  St.  Elias,  Seattle, 
and  Vancouver.  Mt.  Logan  is  the  highest,  19,539 
feet,  but  as  it  is  not  visible  from  the  ocean  St.  Elias, 
18,024  feet,  is  the  dominating  feature  of  the  landscape, 
and  is  visible  under  favorable  conditions  about  150 
miles  from  the  sea.  Its  base  washed  by  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  the  main  peak  springs  precipitously  upward. 
Stupendous  in  its  environment,  as  well  as  in  its  height, 
St.  Elias  beggars  description.  On  near  approach  its 
beauty  is  enhanced  by  a  bordering  hem  of  pure  white, 


MOUNTAINS  163 

the  Malaspina  Glacier,  which  follows  the  shore  line  for 
nearly  seventy  miles. 

Of  St.  Elias,  Russell  wrote: 

At  length  the  great  pyramid  forming  the  culminat 
ing  summit  of  all  the  region  burst  into  full  view.  What 
a  glorious  sight!  The  great  mountain  seemed  higher 
and  grander  and  more  regularly  proportioned  than 
any  peak  I  had  ever  beheld  before.  The  white  plain 
formed  by  the  Seward  Glacier  made  an  even  foreground, 
which  gave  distance  to  the  foot-hills  forming  the  west 
ern  margin  of  the  glacier.  Far  above  the  angular  crest 
of  the  Samovar  Hills  in  the  middle  distance  towered 
St.  Elias,  sharp  and  clear  against  the  evening  sky.  So 
majestic  was  St.  Elias  that  other  magnificent  peaks 
scarcely  received  a  second  glance. 

The  Wrangell  Mountains  are  a  group  of  irregular 
volcanic  formation,  with  a  mean  elevation  of  10,000 
feet.  They  are  separate  from  the  Coast  Range,  and 
cover  an  area  of  about  one  hundred  by  fifty  miles  in  ex 
tent.  The  main  peaks  are  unsymmetrical  lava  cones, 
of  which  eight,  Blackburn,  Castle  Peak,  Drum,  Jarvis, 
Regal,  Sanford,  Wrangell,  and  Zanetti,  exceed  10,000 
feet  in  height.  It  is  known  that  there  are  quite  a 
number  of  unnamed  peaks  that  are  of  similar  high  ele 
vation.  The  highest  two  of  the  known  peaks  are 
Wrangell,  14,005,  and  Blackburn,  16,140  feet.  As 
later  mentioned,  Wrangell  is  an  active  volcano  and 
with  its  neighbors  forms  a  detached  group,  doubtless 
the  eastern  results  of  the  volcanic  forces  that  have 
played  such  prominent  parts  in  the  formation  of  south 
western  Alaska. 

Mrs.   Higginson  considers  the  Wrangell  Mountain 


164       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

views  from  Copper  Valley  "unsurpassed  in  the  interior. 
Mount  Drum,  sweeping  up  splendidly  from  a  level 
plain,  is  more  imposing  than  Wrangell  and  Blackburn 
(from  2,000  to  4,000  feet  higher).  Glacial  creeks  and 
roaring  rivers;  wild  and  fantastic  canons,  moving 
glaciers,  gorges  of  royal  purple  bloom,  green  valleys 
and  flowery  slopes,  the  domed  and  towered  Castle 
Mountains,  the  lone  and  majestic  peaks,  cascades 
spraying  down  sheer  precipices — all  blend  into  one 
grand  panorama  of  unrivalled  inland  grandeur." 

The  Alaskan  Range  forms  the  southern  boundary 
of  the  Yukon  Basin,  and  extends  from  the  International 
Boundary  (where  the  mountains  are  named  Nutzotin) 
westward,  in  a  semicircle,  to  the  region  west  of  Cook 
Inlet.  The  range  has  a  well-defined  crest  line,  from 
8,000  to  10,000  feet  in  elevation,  which  is  unbroken 
for  about  200  miles.  Four  peaks — Foraker,  Russell, 
Spurr,  and  McKinley — (see  Table  6)  are  above  10,000 
feet,  the  last-named  20,464  feet,  being  the  highest 
peak  of  America. 

South  of  this  range  are  the  Chugach  Mountains,  of 
which  Muir  says: 

The  entrance  to  the  famous  Prince  William  Sound 
disclosed  to  the  westward  one  of  the  richest,  most 
glorious  mountain  landscapes  I  ever  beheld — peak 
over  peak  dipping  deep  in  the  sky,  a  thousand  of  them, 
icy  and  shining,  rising  higher,  higher,  beyond  and  yet 
beyond  another,  burning  bright  in  the  afternoon  light, 
purple  cloud  bars  above  them,  purple  shadows  in  the 
hollows,  and  great  breadths  of  sun-spangled,  ice- 
dotted  waters  in  front.  .  .  .  Grandeur  and  beauty  in 
a  thousand  forms  awaited  us  at  every  turn  in  this 


MOUNTAINS  165 

bright  and  spacious  wonderland.  But  that  first  broad, 
far-reaching  view  in  the  celestial  light  was  the  best 
of  all. 

The  Aleutian  Range,  which  extends  from  Cook  Inlet 
southwest  to  the  end  of  the  Alaska  Peninsula,  is  com 
posed  of  typical  volcanic  cones  which  are  treated  later 
under  the  heading  of  volcanoes.  The  mountains  only 
on  the  west  shore  of  Cook  Inlet  are  of  very  great 
height— Redoubt,  11,270  feet  and  Iliamna,  12,066 
feet. 

MOUNTAIN  CLIMBING 

As  far  as  is  known,  the  mountain  peaks  of  Alaska 
offer  no  insuperable  obstacle  to  their  ascent.  Lack  of 
local  transportation,  however,  makes  their  approach 
a  matter  of  great  expenditure  of  time  and  money. 

The  Duke  of  Abruzzi's  experiences  are  recounted  in 
his  "Ascent  of  Mt.  St.  Elias."  Dr.  F.  A.  Cook's  ex 
pedition  is  described  in  his  "To  the  Top  of  the  Con 
tinent,"  1907;  supplemented  by  the  story  of  his 
companion,  R.  Dun,  in  the  "  Shameless  Diary  of  an 
Explorer,"  1907.  Dun  tells  the  story  of  his  Wrangell 
climb  (Harper's  Magazine,  March,  1909),  under  the 
title  of  "Conquering  our  Greatest  Volcano." 

VOLCANOES 

Though  viewed  by  the  general  public  as  a  semi- 
arctic  territory,  yet  Alaska  affords  the  most  striking 
phases  of  volcanic  activity  to  be  found  in  the  western 
hemisphere,  whether  of  ancient  or  recent  times. 


166       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

Dr.  C.  Grewingk,  the  best  authority  on  Alaskan 
volcanoes,  wrote  in  1850: 

We  know  of  no  more  extensive  theatre  of  volcanic 
activity  than  the  Aleutian  Islands,  the  Alaskan  Pen 
insula,  and  the  west  coast  of  Cook  Inlet.  Here,  within 
the  limits  of  a  single  century,  have  all  the  known  phe 
nomena  occurred :  the  elevation  of  mountain  chain  and 
islands,  the  sinking  of  extensive  areas  of  the  earth's  sur 
face,  earthquakes,  eruptions  of  lava  ashes  and  mud,  the 
hot  springs,  and  explosions  of  steam  and  sulphuric  gases. 

An  almost  unbroken  line  of  volcanic  mountain 
ranges  extends  from  Mt.  Wrangell  westward  to  the 
Commander  Islands.  There  are  no  less  than  twenty- 
five  of  the  Aleutian  Islands  on  which  active  volcanic 
action  has  occurred,  leaving  forty-eight  craters. 

The  following  typical  and  widely  separated  volcanoes 
yet  show  signs  of  minor  activity,  and  the  accompanying 
dates  are  the  years  in  which  occurred  the  last  violent 
outbreaks:  Akutan,  1825;  Iliamna,  1793;  Makushin, 
1826;  Pavlof,  1825;  Pogromni,  1831;  Redoubt,  1819; 
Shishaldin,  1838;  and  Wrangell,  1819.  As  elsewhere 
stated,  Bogoslof  and  Grewingk  (New  Bogoslof)  are 
yet  exceedingly  active. 

Of  the  three  types — eruptive  or  true  volcano,  semi- 
eruptive,  and  uplift  without  eruption — Akutan,  Ma 
kushin,  and  Shishaldin  are  illustrative  examples  of  the 
first,  while  Bogoslof  and  Grewingk  pertain  to  the 
last-named  class. 

Of  the  Alaskan  volcanoes  as  a  whole,  Grewingk  writes : 

There  are  no  descriptions  of  streams  of  burning 
lava.  Eruptions  within  historic  times  have  consisted 


Crater  of  Augustine  Peak. 


Augustine  (Dead)  Volcano,  Cook  Inlet. 


MOUNTAINS  167 

of  ashes,  stones,  and  liquid  mud,  seldom  occurring 
within  the  true  craters. 

He  adds  that  the  only  lava-made  islands  are  St. 
Matthew,  St.  Michael,  Stuart  Islands,  the  Pribilof 
group,  and  perhaps  Umnak. 

Colonel  Caine  says  of  his  visit  to  Cook  Inlet: 

During  the  first  three  months  (June  to  September, 
1902)  Redoubt  poured  forth  at  intervals  dense  clouds 
of  smoke  and  vivid  sheets  of  flame,  blackening  the 
usually  virgin  slopes  of  snow  on  its  sides  with  dark- 
gray  volcanic  dust.  (He  adds  that  according  to  local 
reports  Wrangell  broke  out  violently  at  that  time.) 

Of  Pavlof,  and  the  adjacent  mountain  country,  at 
the  west  end  of  Alaska  Peninsula,  John  Burroughs 
(" Summer  Holidays  in  Alaskan  Waters")  writes: 

The  twin  volcanic  peaks  of  Pavlof  rise  from  the 
shore  to  an  altitude  of  seven  or  eight  thousand  feet,  one 
of  them  a  symmetrical  cone  with  black  converging 
lines  of  rock  cutting  through  the  snow;  the  other  more 
rugged  and  irregular,  with  many  rents  upon  its  sides 
and  near  its  summit,  from  which  issued  vapor,  stain 
ing  the  snow  like  soot  from  a  chimney.  Sheets  of 
vapor  were  also  seen  issuing  from  cracks  at  its  foot 
near  sea  level  (in  1899). 

That  this  volcano  has  recurring  phases  of  activity 
is  evident  from  the  statement  of  Captain  Radclyffe  in 
"Big  Game  Shooting  in  Alaska,"  who  says  that  in 
July,  1903: 

Mt.  Pavlof  suddenly  burst  out  with  a  series  of  ter 
rific  explosions,  which  were  repeated  every  five  min 
utes,  sending  up  clouds  of  steam  and  smoke,  and  shak 
ing  the  ground  around  for  miles. 


168       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

Of  the  Aghilan  Pinnacles,  a  remarkable  succession 
of  black  castellated  rocks  west  of  Pavlof  Volcano, 
Burroughs  says: 

A  strange  architectural  effect  amid  the  wilder  and 
ruder  forms  that  surround  them,  as  if  some  vast  many- 
sided  cathedral  of  dark  gray  stone  were  going  to  decay 
in  the  mountain  solitude.  Both  in  form  and  color 
they  seem  alien  to  everything  about  them.  Now  we 
saw  them  athwart  the  crests  of  smooth  green  hills,  or 
fretting  the  sky  above  lines  of  snow.  Their  walls 
were  so  steep  that  no  snow  lay  upon  them,  while  the 
pinnacles  were  like  church  spires. 

The  twin  volcanoes,  Pogromni,  6,500  feet,  and  Shi- 
shaldin,  9,387  feet  high,  are  on  Unimak  Island,  at  the 
end  of  Alaska  Peninsula.  Of  them  John  Burroughs 
writes : 

Our  first  glimpse  was  of  a  black  cone  ending  in  a 
point.  ...  It  seemed  buoyed  up  by  the  clouds.  .  .  . 
There  was  nothing  to  indicate  a  mountain.  Presently 
the  veil  was  brushed  aside,  and  we  saw  both  moun 
tains  from  base  to  summit  and  noted  the  vast  concave 
lines  of  Shishaldin  that  swept  down  to  the  sea,  and 
that  mark  the  typical  volcanic  form.  The  long,  grace 
ful  curves,  so  attractive  to  the  eye,  repeat  on  this  far- 
off  island  the  profile  of  Fujiyama,  the  sacred  peak  of 
Japan.  The  upper  part,  for  several  thousand  feet, 
was  dark — doubtless  the  result  of  heat,  for  it  is  smoking 
this  year. 

Mrs.  Higginson  well  describes  it: 

In  the  absolute  perfection  of  its  conical  form,  its 
chaste  and  elegant  beauty  of  outline,  and  the  slender 
column  of  smoke  pushing  up  from  its  finely  pointed 
crest,  Shishaldin  stands  alone. 


MOUNTAINS  169 

One  night  in  1900  the  writer  saw  the  overhanging 
clouds  of  Shishaldin  all  aflame  from  volcanic  action, 
and  again  saw  the  peak's  graceful  outlines  by  day,  and 
finds  it  in  form  and  beauty  second,  if  at  all,  to  the 
typical  volcanic  peak  of  Mayon,  in  far-off  Luzon. 

From  1825  to  1829,  Pogromni  (destroying  desola 
tion)  and  Shishaldin  were  violently  active  at  intervals, 
new  craters  and  fissures  appearing  with  masses  of  red- 
hot  lava,  recurring  flames,  showers  of  ashes  and  stones, 
with  other  volcanic  phenomena.  Fortunately  there 
has  been  no  recurrence  of  violent  action. 

Bogoslof  was  formed  by  crystal  uplift  in  May,  1796, 
when,  after  indications  of  volcanic  disturbances,  an 
observer  on  Unimak  saw  far  out  on  the  sea  a  black 
object,  and  there  appeared 

Large  flames  of  such  brilliancy  that  on  the  island 
(twelve  miles  distant)  night  was  converted  into  day, 
and  an  earthquake  (occurred)  with  thundering  noises, 
while  rocks  were  occasionally  thrown  on  the  island 
from  the  new  crater. 

After  three  days  the  earthquake  ceased,  the  flames 
subsided,  and  the  newly  created  island  loomed  up  in  the 
shape  of  a  cone.  About  eight  years  elapsed  before  the 
island  was  sufficiently  cooled  to  permit  its  examination. 

In  1883  a  companion  volcano,  New  Bogoslof — now 
called  Grewingk — was  born.  The  history  of  its  rapid 
and  extraordinary  changes  in  size  and  shape  appears 
in  the  records  of  the  fourteen  visits  and  examinations 
between  1883  and  1899.  When  discovered,  September 
27,  1883,  by  Captain  Anderson,  it  was  "then  in  active 
eruption,  throwing  out  large  masses  of  heated  rocks 


170       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

and  great  volumes  of  smoke,  steam,  and  ashes,  which 
came  from  the  apex  and  from  numerous  fissures,  of 
which  some  were  below  the  surface  of  the  sea." 

Captain  Healy,  of  the  Corwin,  four  times  visited 
the  island.  He  states  that,  in  1884, 

Both  peaks  were  inaccessible  on  account  of  the  steam 
and  fumes  of  sulphur  in  which  they  were  enveloped. 
One  night  the  volcano  in  the  darkness  presented  a 
most  extraordinary  spectacle.  The  summit  was  en 
veloped  in  a  bright  sulphurous  light,  which  burst 
forth  from  rifts  in  its  side  and  shone  out  against 
the  black  sky,  making  a  scene  both  beautiful  and 
impressive. 

Dr.  C.  Hart  Merriam,  from  whose  comprehensive 
account  these  descriptions  are  drawn,  twice  visited 
Bogoslof.  Of  the  island,  in  1891,  he  says: 

The  shape  of  the  island  did  not  in  any  way  suggest 
a  volcano,  there  being  no  cone  and  no  true  crater.  .  .  . 
The  new  volcano  was  enveloped  in  steam,  which  issued 
from  thousands  of  small  crannies,  and  poured  in  vast 
clouds  from  a  few  great  fissures  and  craterlike  open 
ings.  .  .  .  The  steam  was  usually  impregnated  with 
fumes  of  sulphur.  .  .  .  Most  of  the  rock  was  hot  and 
pools  of  hot  water  were  found  on  the  beach. 

Merriam's  comments  as  to  the  absence  of  a  true 
crater  accord  with  the  theory  of  Grewingk  that 

The  falling  in  of  mountains  on  the  east  coast  of 
Bering  Sea,  the  apparent  swelling  and  bursting  of 
whole  sections  of  islands,  are  indications  pointing  to 
formation  of  peaks,  craters,  and  crevices  by  ele 
vation. 


w     -S 

li 


f  I 


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—      ~ 


MOUNTAINS  171 

In  1906  a  third  island  was  added  to  the  Bogoslof 
group,  being  first  seen  on  May  26.  Dr.  C.  H.  Gilbert- 
says  of  this  visit: 

We  were  astonished  to  find  that  Fire  (Grewingk) 
Island  was  no  longer  smoking  and  that  a  very  large 
third  island  had  arisen  half  way  between  the  other 
two.  It  was  made  of  jagged,  rugged  lava  and  was 
giving  off  clouds  of  steam  and  smoke  from  any  number 
of  little  craters  scattered  all  over  it.  Around  these 
craters,  the  rocks  were  all  crusted  with  yellow  sulphur. 

The  new  cone,  occupying  much  of  the  space  between 
the  two  older  ones,  was  somewhat  higher  than  either, 
but  300  feet  would  be  an  extreme  figure.  There  was 
no  evidence  of  any  crater. 

Its  bases,  undermined  by  the  unceasing  action  of 
sea  currents  and  storm  waves,  its  cliffs  wasting  through 
wind  and  precipitation,  its  external  material  suffering 
disintegration  by  alternate  action  of  superheated 
steam  and  arctic  cold,  and  its  structural  stability  im 
paired  by  uplifting  and  shifting  internal  forces,  the 
entire  Bogoslof  group  bids  fair  within  a  century  to 
wholly  disintegrate  and  disappear,  as  has  the  ad 
jacent  volcanic  Ship  Rock  that  antedated  Old 
Bogoslof  as  an  illustration  of  plutonic  action  in 
these  seas. 

(As  this  chapter  is  about  going  to  press,  renewed 
activity  of  the  Bogoslof  volcanoes  is  reported.  Prof. 
George  Davidson  has  received  advices  from  Una- 
laska  (April  10,  1909)  that  the  Bogoslof  volcanoes 
have  been  unusually  active  since  March  1.  Observers 
at  sea  have  noted  great  clouds  of  smoke  and  steam 


172       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

issuing  from  the  Bogoslof  group,  while  cloud  reflections 
of  volcanic  fires  have  been  seen  at  night,  fifty  miles 
from  the  islands.) 

HOT  SPRINGS 

Despite  its  high  latitudes  and  enormous  areas  of 
deeply  frozen  soil,  Alaska  has  many  hot  springs. 
Though  they  are  especially  frequent  in  the  volcanic 
mountains  of  the  Aleutian  Isles,  yet  they  are  found  in 
southeastern  Alaska,  in  the  Yukon  and  Tanana  Val 
leys,  on  the  Seward  Peninsula,  and  elsewhere. 

In  the  southeastern  region  they  occur  without  ex 
ception  in  granite  belts,  the  water  issuing  from  fracture; 
planes.  That  opposite  the  Great  Glacier,  on  the  Stikino 
River,  has  the  greatest  outflow,  about  1,500,000  gallons 
daily.  Near  Bailey  Bay,  Behm  Canal,  is  found  the 
hottest  spring,  of  a  temperature  of  203°  F.,  the  water 
issuing  in  a  jet  15  inches  high  and  1  inch  in  diameter. 
The  Sitkan  and  a  few  other  springs  are  credited  with 
curative  qualities,  while  some  have  a  prospective  com 
mercial  value  for  their  carbonated  waters. 

Of  the  many  Aleutian  springs  the  best  known  are 
those  in  the  volcanic  mountains  of  Little  Sitkhin,  the 
most  westerly  of  the  volcanoes,  those  of  the  islands  of 
Akutan  and  Umnak,  and  the  sulphurous  waters  of 
Belkofski. 

While  the  hot  springs  of  the  Serpentine,  near  Nome, 
are  the  fashionable  health  resort  of  Seward  Peninsula, 
there  are  large  outflows  on  the  Kougarouk  and  on  the 
Inmachi  rivers;  and  far  to  the  east  in  the  Kobuk 


MOUNTAINS  173 

Valley  is  a  spring  on  Reid  River,  within  the  Arctic 
Circle,  in  67°  20'  N.,  152°  W. 

The  waters  at  Hot  Springs,  on  Baker  Creek  in  the 
lower  Tanana  Valley,  have  the  widest  repute.  More 
than  fifty  acres  of  ground  are  in  a  high  state  of  cultiva 
tion  within  the  favored  area.  A  large  hotel  has  been 
built,  and  all  facilities  for  baths  and  thermal  treatment 
have  been  installed,  so  that  it  has  become  a  much- 
frequented  watering-place. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — Merriam:  Bogoslof,  Our  Newest  Volcano.  (In  Har- 
riman  Alaska  Expedition,  vol.  2.) 


CHAPTER  XX 
INHABITANTS-WHITES  AND  NATIVES 

DEFINITE  information  as  to  the  population  of  Alaska 
is  not  obtainable,  and  among  the  reasons  therefor  are 
the  rapid  and  frequent  changes  necessitated  by  Alaska:! 
industries.  Including  those  engaged  in  the  fishery 
industries,  it  is  believed  that  the  summer  population 
is  fully  15,000  greater  than  that  in  winter,  when  the  de 
mand  for  labor  falls  off  greatly. 

By  census  there  were  33,426  inhabitants  in  1880,  of 
whom  only  430  were  whites;  in  1890,  32,052,  of  whom 
4,298  were  whites;  and  in  1900,  63,592,  of  whom 
30,493  were  whites — nine-tenths  being  males. 

One  of  the  best  authorities,  E.  H.  Harrison  ("Alaska 
Almanac/7  1908),  places  the  white  population  at  40,000 
in  winter  and  the  summer  inhabitants  at  55,000.  The 
distribution  assigned  was:  Seward  Peninsula,  15,000; 
Tanana  Valley,  15,000;  southeastern  and  southwest 
ern  Alaska,  18,000;  other  districts,  7,000. 

The  whites  are  very  largely  of  American  birth,  as, 
including  the  miners  at  Treadwell,  Douglas  Island, 
those  of  foreign  birth  in  1900  formed  only  one-sixth 
of  the  total  white  population.  The  Asiatics,  almost 
entirely  employed  at  the  canneries,  numbered  3,385, 
of  whom  3,116  were  Chinese. 

Contrary  to  the  oft-expressed  opinion,  the  Alaskans 

174 


INHABITANTS  175 

are  neither  reckless,  dissipated,  nor  lawless.  In  the 
main  they  are  law-abiding,  hard-working,  and  tem 
perate  men.  The  rapid  and  successful  development 
of  the  Territory  has  been  the  outcome  of  intelligent, 
persistent  struggles  on  the  part  of  self-respecting 
communities  that  are  above  the  average  of  those  in 
the  United  States  proper.  The  writer  has  been  fa 
miliar  with  mining  camps  and  frontier  settlements  for 
forty  years,  and  has  never  elsewhere  seen  the  equal 
for  high  qualities  of  manhood  that  are  usually  found 
in  Alaska.  This  is  doubtless  due  in  large  part  to  the 
fact  that  Alaska  is  not  a  "poor  man's  country,"  as 
only  men  of  some  means  can  even  reach  the  country, 
while  considerable  money  and  credit  are  necessary  for 
the  smallest  ventures. 

Tourists  and  prospectors  travel  everywhere  with 
out  danger  to  life  or  person,  though  the  adventurous 
can  readily  find  associates  of  kindred  and  vicious 
qualities,  if  so  inclined.  It  may  be  added  that  sojourn 
among  the  natives  entails  danger  only  on  the  rarest 
possible  occasions,  the  killing  of  a  peaceable  white 
man  by  a  native  being  almost  unknown  in  recent  years. 

NATIVES 

By  census,  the  natives  numbered  in  1880,  31,240; 
in  1890,  23,531;  and  in  1900,  27,037. 

Considered  from  the  linguistic  standpoint  there  are 
five  native  tribes,  which  in  order  of  importance  are  as 
follows:  Esquimaux,  the  Tlinkits  (or  Koluschantook), 
Athapascans,  Metlakatlas  (or  Tsimpseans),  and  Haidas 


176       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

(or  Chimmesyan).  They  were  divided  as  follows,  ac 
cording  to  the  census  of  1890:  the  Esquimaux,  14,012; 
the  Tlinkits  (or  Koluschantook),  4,737;  the  Atha 
pascans,  3,439;  the  Metlakatlas  (or  Tsimpseans), 
952;  and  the  Haidas,  391.  In  1900,  they  were  net 
enumerated  separately,  and  the  accuracy  of  the  vari 
ous  enumerators  has  been  questioned.  Their  increase 
or  decrease  is  a  matter  of  opinion,  the  writer  believing 
that  they  are  slowly  vanishing  as  races. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  tell  the  story  of  the  Alaskan 
natives,  which  in  its  totality  can  only  be  viewed  as 
disgraceful  to  a  nation  claiming  to  be  civilized,  human 
itarian,  or  Christian. 

In  general,  contact  with  the  white  man  has  steadily 
tended  to  degeneration  among  the  four  principal  tribes 
of  Alaska,  though  at  times  there  have  been  spasmodic 
and  usually  fruitless  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States  to  correct  the  most  flagrant  and  degrading  vio 
lations  of  personal  rights  and  public  decency. 

The  results  of  the  labors  of  Christian  men  and 
women  by  personal  service  and  moral  teachings  to 
raise  the  native  to  a  higher  plane  of  life  and  action 
are  briefly  outlined  in  another  chapter.  In  several 
localities  the  educational  opportunities  of  a  quarter 
of  a  century  have  been  so  utilized  that  many  natives 
are  better  qualified  for  the  war  with  civilization,  as 
regards  its  material  aspects.  In  unfortunately  too 
few  cases  there  has  been  a  development  of  moral  virtues 
and  strengthening  of  Christian  character,  but  the  gen 
eral  outcome  is  pitiful  in  the  extreme.  In  a  journey 
of  over  2,000  miles  through  Alaska,  the  writer  dis- 


INHABITANTS  177 

cussed  the  situation  with  a  dozen  or  more  missionaries, 
at  nine  separate  stations  and  representing  six  religious 
bodies.  Every  one  answered  in  the  negative  when 
asked  if  the  natives  had  improved  in  honesty,  the  men 
in  industry,  the  women  in  chastity,  and  the  youth  in 
promise  of  higher  morality. 

In  mining  towns  and  camps  the  saloon  and  dance- 
house,  which  foster  in  the  men  indulgence  in  liquor 
and  offer  to  the  young  girls  the  allurements  of  finery 
and  a  life  of  apparent  ease,  are  factors  potent  in  de 
generation  and  so  attractive  in  appearance  that  only 
few  natives  withstand  them.  At  remote  points  trad 
ers,  fishermen,  and  whalers  have  been  only  too  often 
guilty  of  gross  misconduct  destructive  of  the  moral 
character  and  physical  health  of  the  unfortunate 
natives.  The  conduct  of  the  white  man  toward  the 
Alaskan  natives  is  not  unlike  that  shown  toward  the 
American  Indian. 

In  former  days  the  Alaskan  Indians  were  divided 
into  two  classes,  those  of  the  coast  and  those  of  the 
interior.  There  are  now  popularly  recognized  the 
Tlinkits  of  the  Sitkan  Archipelago;  the  Aleuts  of 
the  Aleutian  chain  of  islands;  the  Athapascans,  of 
the  interior  watersheds  of  the  Yukon,  Kuskokwim, 
and  Copper;  and  the  Esquimaux,  who  fringe  the 
shores  of  Bering  Sea  and  the  Arctic  Ocean.  Addi 
tionally,  there  are  the  Tsimpseans  (better  known  as 
Metlakatlans),  immigrants  from  British  Columbia, 
and  a  few  hundred  Haidas. 


178       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

Aleuts 

Though  numbering  less  than  a  thousand,  the  Aleuts 
are  probably  the  most  interesting  of  the  natives,  as 
having  acquired  certain  benefits  of  civilization,  with 
minor  elements  of  its  vices.  Dwelling  on  the  Aleutian 
Islands,  with  the  seas  as  their  field  of  occupation,  they 
live  largely  on  fish,  varied  in  summer  by  a  diet  of 
berries  and  wild-fowl.  Their  peculiar  cellarlike  ard 
sedge-covered  huts  are  comfortable  and  fairly  well- 
kept.  On  the  larger  and  more  accessible  islands  the 
construction  of  framed  houses  and  the  presence  of 
gaudy  lithographs,  coal-oil  stoves,  granite  ware,  ard 
cotton  prints  display  the  taste  of  the  natives  and  the 
influence  of  the  trader.  The  Aleut  is  docile,  peace 
ful,  a  good  husband  and  father,  honest  and  industrious. 
Baptized  in  the  Greek  Catholic  Church,  and  visited 
at  least  annually  by  a  priest,  he  is  fond  of  festivals 
and  ceremonies,  which  are  infrequently  marked  by  ex 
cesses.  Largely  influenced  by  the  Church,  which  uses 
a  mixture  of  Russian  and  Aleut  in  its  ceremonies, 
they  have  not  taken  kindly  to  American  speech  or 
education.  However,  the  past  neglect  of  the  United 
States  along  these  lines  has  been  largely  responsible 
for  such  existent  conditions. 

Athapascans 

These  interior  Indians  are  steadily  fading  away, 
as  civilization  enters  the  valleys  of  the  Copper,  the 
Yukon,  the  Tanana,  and  upper  Kuskokwim.  In 
1900,  an  epidemic  of  the  measles  and  the  grippe  killed 


INHABITANTS  179 

off  at  least  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  Indians  of  the 
central  and  lower  Yukon.  In  later  years  tuberculosis 
has  made  havoc  with  those  remaining,  and  it  has  been 
said  that  more  than  half  the  deaths  in  many  villages 
are  from  this  dread  disease.  With  the  destruction 
of  fur-bearing  animals  and  the  enormous  slaughter  of 
the  caribou,  there  have  come  seasons  of  dire  distress, 
so  that  in  too  frequently  recurring  years  there  are  a 
large  number  of  deaths  from  starvation.  Only  two 
things  are  certain — diminution  of  numbers  and  increase 
of  misery. 

Esquimaux 

About  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  natives  are  Esquimaux, 
who  are  found  in  all  parts  of  Alaska  except  to  the  south 
eastward  of  Prince  William  Sound.  Contrary  to  the 
general  opinion,  their  main  habitat  is  not  along  the 
shores  of  the  Arctic  Ocean.  Less  than  one-fifth  live 
within  the  Arctic  Circle,  while  the  favorite  and  most 
populous  district  is  the  coastal  plain  of  Bering  Sea, 
from  the  Kuskokwim  mouth  to  the  Yukon  Delta, 
where  fully  forty  per  cent,  of  the  Esquimaux  live  per 
manently. 

Peaceful  and  docile,  trustful  and  generous,  the 
Alaskan  Esquimaux  have  gained  a  precarious  living 
from  adjacent  seas  in  summer  and  from  the  lakes  and 
tundras  in  winter,  principally  by  fishing.  More  than  any 
other  Alaskan  race  they  have  suffered  by  contact  with 
the  white  man.  The  whale  and  walrus  are  practically 
annihilated,  land  animals  have  likewise  disappeared, 
the  Seward  Peninsula  is  one  great  mining  camp,  and 


180       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

Bristol  Bay  is  the  great  centre  of  the  salmon  fishery. 
These  vitally  changed  conditions  of  life  have  seriously 
affected  the  Esquimaux,  who  find  their  means  of  subsist 
ence  largely  destroyed,  their  habitat  invaded,  and  new 
methods  of  life  forced  upon  them.  Decimated  by 
epidemic  diseases  introduced  by  the  whites,  victims 
of  unprincipled  liquor  dealers,  often  maltreated  by 
vicious  traders  and  exploited  by  the  unscrupulous 
trader,  the  steady  degeneracy  of  these  hospitable, 
merry-hearted,  and  simple-minded  people  is  appar 
ently  a  matter  of  brief  time.  As  elsewhere  shown, 
the  introduction  of  the  reindeer,  the  efforts  to 
teach  industrial  methods,  and  the  rendering  of 
medical  aid  to  the  suffering,  are  the  only  redeeming 
and  hopeful  features  of  the  Esquimaux  situation  at 
present. 

Fortunately,  the  very  barrenness  of  the  Yukon- 
Kuskokwim  coastal  region  is  in  itself  a  partial  protec 
tion  to  these  so-called  children  of  the  ice.  Here,  apart 
from  the  white  man,  they  are  yet  able,  through  fish 
and  seal,  to  eke  out  a  bare  sustenance  in  good  years, 
while  in  bad  seasons  the  old  and  sick  give  up  their 
lives  so  as  no  longer  to  imperil  the  enfeebled  and 
starving  community. 

Haidas 

Less  than  four  hundred  in  number  are  the  Haidas, 
part  of  the  Queen  Charlotte  Indians.  Known  to 
tourists  of  southeastern  Alaska  for  their  basketry, 
hats,  and  ornamental  carvings,  they  play  no  part  in 
Alaskan  native  life. 


INHABITANTS  181 

Metlakatlas 

The  Tsimpsean  Indians,  under  the  leadership  of 
their  devoted  missionary,  William  Duncan,  immi 
grated  in  a  body  from  near  Port  Simpson,  British 
Columbia,  to  obtain  greater  religious  liberty,  to  Alaska 
in  1887.  On  March  3, 1891,  Congress  set  apart  the  An 
nette  Islands,  now  popularly  known  as  Metlakatla,  as 
a  reservation  "for  the  use  of  the  Metlakatlan  Indians 
and  those  personally  known  as  Metlakatlans,  who  have 
recently  emigrated  from  British  Columbia  to  Alaska, 
and  such  other  Alaskan  natives  as  may  join  them." 

The  town  of  Metlakatla  is  perpetual  evidence  of 
the  soundness  of  Governor  Swine  ford's  judgment  re 
garding  the  capabilities  of  Alaskan  natives.  They 
labor  at  fishing,  in  the  cannery,  in  the  saw-mill,  live 
industriously  and  exemplarily  in  the  clean,  well- 
ordered,  and  picturesque  village  that  is  the  work  of 
their  brains  and  hands.  They  have  built  a  church, 
a  school-house,  town-hall,  guest-house,  saw-mill,  can 
nery,  several  stores,  and  many  comfortable  dwellings 
— in  short,  they  are  a  community  that  does  not  com 
pare  unfavorably  with  any  white  settlement  in  Alaska 
in  thrift,  comfort,  and  order. 

Repeated  efforts  to  reduce  the  size  of  the  reserva 
tion  and  open  it  to  whites  have  so  far  failed,  and  should 
fail.  Their  isolation  has  been  a  most  favorable  factor 
in  the  prosperity  of  the  Metlakatlans,  and  complete 
success  can  only  be  expected  in  Alaskan  missionary 
work  through  rigid  separation  of  whites  and  natives. 
Missionaries  recognize  almost  universally  that  the 


182       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

white  men  seek  intercourse  with  Alaskan  natives  only 
for  exploitation  or  debauchery. 

While  in  late  years  some  Tsimpseans  have  settled 
elsewhere,  so  as  to  be  more  independent  and  individual, 
yet  the  greater  number  wisely  adhere  to  the  communal 
life  which  has  so  improved  their  material,  mental,  and 
moral  conditions. 

Tlinkits 

The  habitat  of  the  Tlinkit  Indians  extends  from 
the  southeastern  boundary  of  Alaska  to  the  mouth 
of  Copper  River.  In  consequence  he  is  the  Alaskm 
Indian,  as  far  as  the  experience  of  the  summer  tourist 
extends.  There  are  twelve  subdivisions  of  the  tribe, 
but  in  general  the  Tlinkits  are  divided  into  two 
clans:  the  Wolf,  which  has  minor  branches,  such  as 
Bear,  Porpoise,  Eagle,  etc.,  and  the  Raven,  to  which 
belong  the  Frog,  Owl,  Sea  Lion,  and  Salmon.  Mar 
riages  are  invariably  made  between  members  of  differ 
ent  clans,  as  those  of  the  same  clan  are  assumed  to  be 
within  prohibited  degrees  of  consanguinity. 

Hereditary  chieftains  and  slaves  formerly  filled  the 
upper  and  lower  tribal  positions,  but  slavery  is  now 
extinct  and  the  claims  to  higher  station  and  power 
on  account  of  birth  are  steadily  weakening. 

Originally  marine  nomads,  with  settled  habitats 
in  winter  alone,  these  Indians  have,  under  changed 
conditions,  become  permanent  in  their  residences. 
The  original  disinclination  of  the  men  to  work  has  dis 
appeared  under  the  stimulus  of  artificial  wants,  so 
sedulously  fostered  by  the  whites  and  favored  by 


INHABITANTS  183 

native  women.  The  mechanical  skill  of  the  men  is 
well  known,  having  in  the  past  been  applied  to  the 
carving  and  erection  of  artistic  totem  poles,  the  con 
struction  of  large  log  houses,  and  especially  in  the 
building  of  war  canoes,  usually  from  a  single  huge  tree, 
and  their  elaborate  carving  and  ornamentation.  These 
huge  canoes,  capable  of  carrying  sixty  to  seventy  war 
riors,  are  now  rarely  seen,  giving  way  to  small  boats 
fitted  for  sea  and  coast  fisheries.  The  totem  poles, 
formerly  ornamented  by  elaborate  and  curious  carv 
ings,  related  in  a  manner  to  their  clan  connections, 
family  history,  and  pedigrees.  While  small  totems 
are  now  made  for  trading  and  sale,  yet  the  old  order  of 
family  coat-of-arms,  as  one  may  say,  has  passed  among 
the  younger  generation.  The  skill  in  copper  forgings, 
once  so  highly  prized,  has  yielded  to  cheap  iron  and 
steel  from  the  trader. 

The  women  were  once  famous  for  their  closely 
woven,  plant-dyed  blankets  of  mountain-sheep  wool, 
the  cherished  form  of  personal  wealth,  but  now  they 
apply  the  least  work  consistent  with  the  untrained 
demands  of  summer  tourists  to  imported  wools  colored 
by  aniline  dyes.  Similarly,  there  has  been  marked 
decline  in  the  basketry  methods  and  styles,  which 
formerly  were  so  artistic  and  pleasing. 

In  short,  the  Tlinkits  have  changed  from  a  war 
like,  proud  people  to  the  positions  of  hewers  of  wood 
and  drawers  of  water.  They  live  through  labor  in  the 
saw-mills,  canneries,  and  fisheries,  that  are  the  main 
industries  of  the  Sitkan  Archipelago,  supplemented 
on  the  part  of  the  women  by  shrewd  and  profitable 


184       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

curio  trade  with  the  summer  tourist.  Gradually  the 
natives  are  engaging  in  the  minor  operations  as  miners, 
wherever  the  union  does  not  emphatically  forbid. 
Industrial  training,  along  with  their  peculiar  gifts,  is 
hesitatingly  but  fairly  well  received,  especially  by  the 
men,  and  the  Tlinkit  has  become  a  valuable  factor  in 
the  development  of  southeastern  Alaska,  justifying 
the  faith  of  the  first  American  Governor,  A.  P.  Swine- 
ford,  who,  in  his  annual  report  for  1885,  writes: 

All  the  natives  are  self-sustaining.  They  are  far 
superior  intellectually,  if  not  in  physical  development, 
to  the  Indian  of  the  plains;  are  industrious,  more  or 
less  skilful  workers  in  woods  and  metals.  They  yield 
readily  to  civilizing  influences,  and  can,  with  much 
less  care  than  has  been  bestowed  on  native  tribes 
elsewhere,  be  educated  up  to  the  standard  of  a  good 
and  intelligent  citizenship. 

Despite  the  fact  that  the  average  Tlinkit  is  self- 
supporting  and  resourceful,  there  is  no  solidarity 
among  them,  and  their  steady  decline  in  numbers  and 
importance  is  probable.  The  United  States  takes  no 
active  interest  in  the  care  of  the  helpless  and  un 
fortunate,  and  private  charity  is  inadequate  to  a  task 
almost  hopeless  in  the  beginning. 

GENERAL  CONDITION  OF  NATIVES 

This  subject  has  engaged  the  earnest  attention  of  the 
writer  for  eight  years,  extending  from  personal  observa 
tion  during  the  fatal  epidemic  of  1900  to  official  in 
vestigations  initiated  by  him  when  Alaska  was  within 
his  military  command  from  1906  to  1908. 


INHABITANTS  185 

In  1905  the  writer,  at  the  request  of  the  late  Ethan 
A.  Hitchcock,  then  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  also 
made  a  personal  study  of  the  problem,  during  an  in 
specting  tour  through  Alaska.  It  appears  certain  that 
general  and  indiscriminate  charity  is  not  only  unde 
sirable  but  also  deleterious  in  its  effects.  My  official 
recommendations  looked  to  especially  encouraging  the 
Indians  to  help  themselves.  To  this  end  it  was  sug 
gested  that  there  should  be  employed  Indian  inspectors, 
whose  moral  influence  should  be  strengthened  by 
clothing  them  with  a  certain  coercive  authority.  Such 
inspectors  should  be  medical  men  with  the  true  mis 
sionary  spirit.  Their  specific  duties  wrere  to  furnish 
treatment  to  natives  remote  from  medical  aid.  There 
was  to  be  instruction  in,  and  enforcement  of,  sanitary 
methods,  supplemented  by  industrial  training  suited  to 
the  environment ;  finally,  there  was  to  be  the  minimum 
of  food  and  clothing  issues. 

These  suggestions,  appear  to  have  had  weight,  for 
the  Bureau  of  Education  furnished  the  following  year 
medical  supplies  and  text-books  to  eleven  Indian  vil 
lages  destitute  of  medical  means.  The  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  also  set  aside  §5,000  to  be  spent  by  officers  of 
the  army  in  affording  relief  in  emergent  cases  of  great 
destitution  and  need. 

Medical  investigations,  directed  by  the  writer  at  two 
widely  separated  points — Haines  Mission  and  Eagle- 
disclosed  shocking  conditions  of  disease  and  sanitation. 
At  one  place  more  than  half  the  natives  were  afflicted 
with  contagious  diseases — tuberculosis  (forty-eight  per 
cent.)  and  trachoma  (seven  per  cent.).  Twenty-four 


186       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

per  cent,  of  the  children  die  as  infants  and  sixteen 
in  childhood.  The  investigations  covered  over  600 
Indians.  The  natives  were  reported  at  one  place  as 
largely  free  from  prejudice,  "tractable,  easy  to  teach, 
and  eager  to  learn." 

Many  high  officials  of  the  nation  have  publicly  de 
plored  the  condition  of  the  natives,  and  President 
Taft,  when  Secretary  of  War,  officially  recommended 
legislative  action  in  his  annual  report  of  1906,  saying: 
"From  time  to  time  during  the  past  four  years  th<3 
War  Department  has  been  called  upon  to  extend  relief 
to  destitute  natives.  This  destitution  (he  adds)  is 
owing  to  increasing  scarcity  of  game,  and  the  decline 
in  the  run  of  the  salmon,  due  in  large  measure  to  th3 
ingress  and  encroachments  of  the  whites,  and  from  th>3 
ignorance  and  improvidence  of  the  Indians  themselves." 
He  recommended:  "The  adoption  of  radical  measures 
of  relief  not  only  from  a  standpoint  of  humanity,  but 
from  that  of  the  moral  obligation  and  honor  of  the 
nation." 

Every  thoughtful  man  must  realize  the  moral  duty 
of  this  nation  toward  those  whom  we  have  materially, 
morally,  and  physically  injured — especially  to  those 
of  the  extreme  northwest.  To  these  natives,  Prof. 
W.  H.  Dall,  an  authority  from  his  extended  associations 
with  them,  covering  with  intervals  forty  years,  pays 
the  following  deserved  tribute: 

The  men  of  the  Yukon  had,  like  other  men,  their 
careers,  affections,  tragedies,  and  triumphs.  The  val 
ley  whose  rim  enclosed  their  world  was  as  wide  for 
them  as  our  world  is  for  us.  It  is  certain  that  for  their 


INHABITANTS  187 

world  they  had  worked  out  problems  which  we  are  still 
facing  with  trepidation  in  ours.  No  man  went  hungry 
in  a  Yukon  village.  No  youth  might  wed  until  he  had 
killed  a  deer,  as  token  that  he  could  support  his  family. 
The  trail  might  be  lined  with  temporary  caches,  yet  no 
man  put  out  his  hand  to  steal.  Men  were  valued  by 
their  achievements  and  their  liberality. 

Such  were  the  men  of  the  Yukon,  to  whom  civiliza 
tion  and  the  greed  of  gold  brought  drink,  disease,  and 
death.  The  fittest  has  survived,  but  the  fittest  for 
what? 

What,  if  anything,  does  the  General  Government 
owe  the  natives  of  Alaska,  and  in  what  form  shall 
the  payment  be  made?  It  is  a  problem  great  in  its 
moral  as  well  as  in  its  practical  aspects.  Having 
largely  destroyed  their  food  supplies,  altered  their  en 
vironment,  and  changed  their  standards  and  methods 
of  life,  what  does  a  nation  that  has  drawn  products 
valued  at  $300,000,000  owe  to  the  natives  of  Alaska? 
Will  this  nation  pay  its  debts  on  this  account? 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:  Wellcome:  Story  of  Metlakatla.  Petrof:  Population, 
Industries,  and  Resources  of  Alaska.  Tenth  Census,  v.  8.  Higginson: 
Alaska,  1908. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
EDUCATION  AND  MISSIONS 

AMERICAN  polity  looks  to  the  universal  education  of 
the  people  at  public  expense  and  under  government 
control,  leaving  religious  instruction  to  private  initi 
ative.  The  United  States  for  a  quarter  of  a  century 
was,  however,  equally  indifferent  to  both  the  moral 
and  the  mental  training  of  Alaskan  natives,  which 
thus  devolved  entirely  on  the  liberality  and  activities 
of  Christian  men  and  women,  until  in  very  recent  years 
means  and  methods  of  secular  education  were  evolved. 

Under  the  Russian  regime,  education  in  Alaska 
was  confined  to  a  few  religious  and  secular  schools. 
The  first,  connected  with  Russian  Greek  Church 
missions,  confined  its  efforts  to  training  native  priests; 
and  the  latter  class,  under  the  Russian-American 
Company,  practically  educated  selected  natives  and 
half-breeds  for  employment  as  mechanics,  navigators, 
and  ship  carpenters,  but  these  training  schools  fell  into 
decay  about  the  time  of  the  cession. 

It  should  be  added  that  the  natives  of  Kodiak  and 
several  of  the  larger  Aleutian  Islands  have  been  regu 
larly  educated  since  that  great  and  noble  Russian, 
Father  Veniaminof,  systematized  the  work  and  in 
creased  its  efficiency  by  devising  and  publishing  an 
Aleut-Russian  grammar,  which  is  yet  in  use. 

188 


EDUCATION    AND    MISSIONS   189 

American  governmental  control  left  to  absolute 
neglect  for  eighteen  years  the  important  question  of 
education,  in  connection  with  other  similar  adminis 
trative  problems  that  pertain  to  every  Christian  and 
self-respecting  nation.  Stimulated  by  appeals  from 
officers  of  the  army,  American  missionary  societies 
were  not  entirely  neglectful  of  Alaska's  necessities, 
and  in  1877  the  Presbyterians,  through  their  agent, 
Dr.  Sheldon  Jackson,  established  schools  in  south 
eastern  Alaska,  their  example  being  soon  followed 
by  other  missionary  societies. 

The  Alaska  Commercial  Company  maintained  under 
its  control  an  English  school  on  the  Seal  Islands,  but 
the  results  have  always  been  unimportant  owing  to  the 
influence  and  competition  of  the  school  of  the  Russian 
Greek  Church. 

The  United  States  was  finally  forced  by  public 
opinion  to  a  tardy  and  meagre  assumption  of  its  duties 
toward  the  natives — obligations  assumed  under  the 
treaty  of  cession  and  also  necessitated  by  regard  for 
national  morality. 

In  accordance  with  the  law  of  May  17,  1884,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior,  in  1885,  charged  the  Com 
missioner  of  Education  with  the  "  needful  and  proper 
provision  for  the  education  of  the  children  of  school  age 
in  the  Territory  of  Alaska,  without  reference  to  race." 
The  pitiful  sum  of  $25,000  was  appropriated,  and  for 
the  following  ten  years  the  school  system,  pecuniarily 
unable  to  install  its  own  plant,  was  maintained  largely 
by  contracts  with  the  missions,  which  generously  sup 
plemented  the  deficient  support  of  the  nation. 


190       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 


AMERICAN  SCHOOLS 

The  question  of  education  was  brought  indirectly 
to  public  attention  by  the  influx  of  whites  into  the 
Territory  in  1898,  which  necessitated  the  establish 
ment  of  civil  government  in  Alaska.  In  the  law  oi 
June  6,  1900,  for  this  general  purpose,  provision  was 
made  authorizing  incorporated  schools,  which  should 
be  maintained  by  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  fund  arising 
from  license  fees  collected  within  their  corporate 
limits. 

In  1901,  Congress  withdrew  all  national  support  for 
education,  and  the  expense  of  all  schools  devolved  on 
Alaska,  to  be  met  from  license  moneys.  Better  coun 
sels  prevailed  later,  and  by  the  law  of  January  27, 
1905,  regarding  roads,  schools,  and  the  insane  in  Alaska, 
the  education  of  white  children  devolved  on  local 
officials,  while  that  of  the  natives  remains  under  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  and  at  the  expense  of  the 
United  States,  which  appropriated  $200,000  for  this 
purpose  in  1908. 

Public  schools  are  now  of  three  kinds — town,  terri 
torial,  and  native.  Those  of  incorporated  towns, 
Juneau,  Eagle,  Nome,  Valdez,  Ketchikan,  Skagway, 
Douglas,  Wrangell,  Fairbanks,  are  under  three  school 
directors,  elected  by  the  people  and  supported  by  the 
revenue  from  Federal  licenses  levied  on  local  business, 
an  ample  fund  in  most  towns.  These  directors  by 
law  "have  exclusive  supervision,  management,  and 
control  of  the  public  schools  and  school  property. " 


EDUCATION    AND    MISSIONS    191 

The  territorial  schools  outside  of  the  incorporated 
towns  are  under  the  Governor,  as  ex-officio  superin 
tendent,  and  are  maintained  from  Federal  license  funds 
collected  from  the  Territory  at  large.  The  native 
schools  are  controlled  by  the  United  States  Commis 
sioner  of  Education,  and  their  support  is  through  ap 
propriations  from  Congress.  Native  education  is  espe 
cially  in  charge  of  the  chief  of  a  sub-bureau  known 
as  the  Alaska  Division,  with  headquarters  in  Wash 
ington  city.  Of  the  two  local  superintendents,  one  is 
located  at  Teller,  in  charge  of  schools  north  of  Cook 
Inlet,  and  the  other  at  Sitka,  in  charge  of  the  schools 
from  Ketchikan  to  Yakutat.  There  are  sixty-one 
native  schools,  of  which  forty-five  are  provided  with 
government  buildings,  the  others  being  principally  kept 
in  structures  belonging  to  mission  societies.  The 
school  year  covers  from  eight  to  nine  months,  and  the 
teachers  receive  an  average  annual  salary  of  less  than 
§800.  School  attendance  is  irregular,  and  in  many 
cases  very  discouraging.  The  enrolment  of  native 
children  rose  from  2,136  in  1906,  to  2,369  in  1907,  and 
3,067  in  1908.  The  cost  of  each  pupil  present  was 
$63.55,  with  an  average  attendance  of  only  forty-eight 
per  cent,  in  1907,  which  fell  to  thirty-nine  per  cent,  in 
1908.  Methods  to  prevent  truancy  have  been  dili 
gently  and  fruitlessly  sought,  but  Congress  seems 
favorably  inclined  toward  enacting  such  legislation  as 
will  make  school  attendance  obligatory  to  a  certain 
degree. 


192       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

INDUSTRIAL  TRAINING 

The  efforts  to  improve  the  condition  of  natives,  by 
their  instruction  in  agricultural  and  industrial  pur 
suits,  have  met  with  considerable  success.  Training 
in  agriculture  and  in  boat  building  has  been  especially 
satisfactory  at  Sitka.  At  Unalaklik  quite  a  numbe- 
of  small  schooners  have  been  built,  manned,  and  oper 
ated  entirely  by  Esquimaux.  In  several  schools  cook 
ing,  sewing,  dressmaking,  and  basketry  have  been 
taught  to  native  girls. 

Enlarging  its  sphere  of  usefulness,  the  United  States 
Board  of  Education  has  provided  means  of  medical 
treatment  for  many  isolated  Indian  villages.  It  also 
initiated  plans  for  systematic  and  suitable  industrial 
training,  which  will  conform  to  special  local  industries 
and  consider  the  crying  needs  of  the  natives :  from  this 
method  marked  benefits  should  result. 

At  present,  the  means  and  methods  of  educational 
establishments  in  Alaska  may  be  considered  as  quite 
satisfactory,  though  desirable  improvements  are  recom 
mended  by  the  authorities,  particularly  the  extension 
of  school  facilities  to  the  less  populated  Aleutian  Isles 
and  an  increase  in  the  supervising  force. 

As  elsewhere  stated,  the  mission  schools  render  most 
valuable  service,  aiding  and  supplementing  the  Federal 
system. 

MISSIONS 

The  enduring  bases  of  missionary  work  in  Alaska 
were  laid  by  that  remarkable  man,  Innocent  Venia- 
minof,  who  died  as  Primate  of  Russia.  Laboring  as- 


EDUCATION    AND    MISSIONS    193 

siduously  for  nineteen  years,  1823-1842,  as  missionary 
and  priest  in  Alaska,  he  exerted  an  extraordinary  in 
fluence  over  all  natives  that  came  under  his  supervision. 

The  treaty  of  cession  provided  "that  the  churches 
which  have  been  built  in  the  ceded  territory  by  the 
Russian  Government  shall  remain  the  property  of  such 
members  of  the  Greek  Oriental  Church  resident  in  the 
territory  as  may  choose  to  worship  therein."  Al 
though  its  Russian  communicants  very  largely  4e- 
parted,  the  Greek  Church,  to  its  great  credit,  kept 
alive  for  twelve  years  in  Alaska,  under  alien  and  dis 
couraging  conditions,  the  feeble  flame  of  Christian 
faith;  even  now  the  Russian  Church  pays  five-sixths 
of  the  salaries  of  its  Alaskan  priests.  To  this  day  the 
Russian  Church  maintains  its  active  and  financial 
interest  in  Alaska,  and  its  bishops  and  priests  still 
officiate  in  churches  at  Sitka,  Kodiak,  Unalaska,  and 
St.  Michael,  besides  keeping  up  its  mission  work  at 
Ikogmut  and  elsewhere. 

In  addition  to  the  Greek  cathedral  at  Sitka,  there 
were,  in  1900,  seven  parishes  and  thirty-four  minor 
churches  with  twenty-seven  chapels.  Their  field  of 
operation  lies  largely  on  the  fringing  islands  of  south 
ern  Alaska  and  in  the  Aleutian  Archipelago — from 
Sitka  to  Atka,  the  Seal  Islands,  and  the  western 
Aleutians,  though  it  has  missions  on  the  Yukon  and 
Kuskokwim.  Yearly  visits  are  made  by  priests  to 
minor  settlements  where  there  are  but  few  natives. 
Those  who  think  that  the  Greek  Church  is  dead  in 
Alaska  will  be  surprised  to  learn  that  in  1890,  although 
there  were  missions  representing  eleven  faiths,  the 


194       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

Greek  Church  had  10,335  communicants  as  against 
1,334  of  Protestant  faiths  and  498  Catholics.  Of 
the  10,509  who  were  within  the  pale  of  the  Church 
in  1905,  only  59  were  Russians  and  they  mostly 
clergy.  Criticisms  regarding  Greek  formalism  and 
the  efficiency  of  its  clergy  are  often  heard,  but  so  ar>3 
similar  disparaging  remarks  in  Alaska  as  to  the  con 
sistency  of  doctrine  and  practice  as  set  forth  in  the 
lives  of  missionaries  and  teachers  of  other  faiths. 
The  Christian  and  tolerant  view  of  the  local  head  of 
the  Greek  Church  is  shown  by  the  recommendation 
of  the  Alaskan  bishop  in  1905,  that  Russian  and  Aleu 
tian  should  be  replaced  by  the  English  language  in  all 
exercises. 

PROTESTANT  MISSIONS 

Suffice  it  to  say,  that  as  a  body  the  representatives 
of  the  various  churches  in  Alaska  are  devoted,  self- 
sacrificing  men  and  women,  who  labor  faithfully  and 
strenuously  for  the  welfare  of  the  natives,  often  under 
the  most  discouraging  and  trying  circumstances. 
The  advent  of  American  churches  into  this  field  came 
after  twelve  years  of  hesitation,  and  then  through 
the  efforts  of  the  United  States  Army.  Sheldon  Jack 
son  says:  "Christian  women,  wives  of  army  officers 
stationed  at  Sitka  and  Wrangell,  were  continually 
writing  to  their  friends  concerning  the  need  of  mission 
aries."  With  the  aid  of  General  (then  Captain)  S.  P. 
Jocelyn,  United  States  Army,  the  first  Indian  church 
outside  of  the  Greek  pale  was  opened  at  Wrangell 
in  1876.  The  next  year  a  soldier,  whose  name  is 


EDUCATION    AND    MISSIONS   195 

unknown,  wrote  General  Howard,  asking  that  some 
church  send  a  minister  to  guide  and  instruct  these 
Christian  Indians.  This  letter  was  sent  to  Dr. 
Sheldon  Jackson,  who  made  such  prompt  and  effective 
representations  that  he  was  sent,  in  1877,  to  institute 
the  first  Presbyterian  mission  in  Alaska.  The  number 
eventually  increased  to  six — Wrangell,  Sitka,  Hooniah, 
Howkan,  Haines  (all  in  Sitkan  Alaska),  and  at  Point 
Barrow.  The  most  important  work  for  uplifting  the 
Indians,  practically  as  well  as  spiritually,  has  been  the 
development  and  extension  of  the  Sitka  Industrial 
School,  in  which  ex-Governor  Brady  was  for  many 
years  the  dominant  and  inspiring  spirit.  There  are 
accommodations  for  about  160  pupils,  both  boys  and 
girls,  who  are  trained  industrially  and  religiously. 
Formerly  the  pupils  were  from  Sitka  or  adjacent 
islands,  but  they  now  represent  three  tribes  and  are 
recruited  from  distant  points  in  southeastern  Alaska. 

The  efforts  of  the  Baptists  in  Cook  Inlet,  on  Copper 
River,  and  Prince  William  Sound,  have  been  supple 
mented  by  establishing  an  orphanage  at  Wood  Island, 
Kodiak.  Of  the  six  missions  of  the  Methodists,  the 
most  important  is  a  girls'  home  at  Unalaska,  which, 
with  the  Baptist  orphanage,  have  done  much  to  make 
useful  and  honest  the  lives  of  the  helpless  waifs,  for 
whom  otherwise  there  were  scant  hopes  of  the  future. 

The  Swedish  Lutheran  Church  has  three  missions 
— at  Yakutat,  Golofnin,  and  Unalaklik — while  the 
Norwegian  Lutherans  took  station  at  Teller.  The  last 
three  missions  have  become  especially  important  from 
their  association  with  reindeer  work,  later  mentioned. 


196       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

The  most  northern  mission,  at  Point  Barrow,  was 
opened  by  the  Presbyterians.  As  Point  Barrow  is  a 
whaling  centre,  has  a  trading  post,  and  is  occupied  as 
a  governmental  relief  and  life-saving  station,  it  is  a 
highly  important  outpost,  and  the  mission  influence 
is  correspondingly  necessary.  Altogether,  the  Presby 
terians  have  established  sixteen  churches,  of  which 
twelve  are  for  natives. 

The  Moravians  have  a  mission  at  Kwinak  village, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Kanektok.  They  also  opened  two 
missions,  Bethel  and  Carmel,  under  contract  with  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Education,  to  establish  schools 
in  connection  therewith.  Bethel  was  founded  in  1885, 
near  the  Esquimaux  village,  Mumtrelak.  Its  usefulness 
has  been  largely  increased  in  late  years  by  its  herd  of 
reindeer,  which  in  1907  numbered  about  2,100.  Carmel 
was  opened  in  1866,  near  the  Esquimaux  village  Kanu- 
lik  on  the  Nushagak  River.  In  addition  to  its  religious 
work  it  has  instituted  industrial  schools  for  boys  and 
for  girls,  which  have  materially  benefited  the  Esqui 
maux  who,  to  the  number  of  several  thousands,  live 
in  that  region. 

The  Society  of  Friends,  beginning  operations  at 
Douglas  City,  extended  their  work  to  the  Kotzebue 
Sound  region,  where  they  have  at  present  three  mis 
sions — Deering  (now  an  important  mining  centre), 
Kotzebue,  and  Kikiktak.  They  have  given  much  prac 
tical  instruction  and  are  actively  interested  in  train 
ing  apprentices  for  the  reindeer,  which,  to  the  number 
of  845  and  1,193  (in  1907)  head,  were  collected  at  the 
two  latter  stations.  The  Kotzebue  school  had  the 


EDUCATION    AND    MISSIONS   197 

largest  enrolment  in  1907,  120  pupils,  of  any  Federal 
school. 

The  Kinegnak  mission  at  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  and 
that  on  Shismaref  Inlet,  are  supported  by  the  Congre- 
gationalists.  The  Esquimaux  villages  of  Kingegan  and 
Kinegnak,  of  several  hundred  natives,  from  their  asso 
ciation  with  whalers,  liquor  smugglers,  and  prospectors, 
have  great  need  of  guidance.  The  institution  of  this 
mission  has  been  supplemented  by  a  Government 
school  with  105  enrolled  pupils,  and  a  reindeer  sta 
tion,  in  which  there  were  1,261  reindeer  in  1907. 

Though  late  in  entering  the  field,  the  Episcopal 
Church  has  pursued  its  Alaskan  work  with  great  vigor. 
It  opened  a  mission  and  school  at  Anvik  in  1887,  and 
has  steadily  extended  its  operations  in  the  shape  of 
schools,  hospitals,  and  churches,  occupying  twenty- 
three  stations  in  1908.  Alaska  was  organized  as  a 
missionary  diocese  in  1888,  but  its  first  bishop,  P.  T. 
Rowe,  was  not  ordained  until  1895.  With  his  diocesan 
residence  at  Sitka,  Bishop  Rowe  has  stimulated  mission 
ary  zeal  by  extraordinary  personal  efforts  in  the  field. 
He  has  made  winter  journeys  of  thousands  of  miles, 
following  the  sledge  through  Alaskan  cold  and  dark 
ness  to  encourage  the  missions  on  Bering  Strait,  and 
in  the  valleys  of  the  Tanana,  the  Yukon,  and  the 
Koyukuk.  The  most  promising  of  missions  lately  es 
tablished  is  that  on  the  Koyukuk,  which,  from  its 
isolated  position,  is  free  from  the  disadvantages  in 
separable  from  those  at  or  near  white  settlements. 
The  conditions  of  the  service,  despite  Bishop  Rowe's 
personal  efforts,  are  indicative  of  the  great  difficulties 


198       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

under  which  missionary  work  is  done  by  all  churches. 
Of  the  twenty-three  stations  in  1908  there  were  no 
less  than  eight  vacant,  while  three  had  only  a  native 
helper. 

Fidelity,  faith,  courage,  above  all  practicality  and 
administrative  ability,  are  essential  qualities  for  mis 
sionary  work  in  Alaska,  where  climate,  environment, 
and  isolation  are  all  adverse  to  successful  work. 

The  most  striking  and  favorable  results  through 
mission  work  among  the  Tsimpseans  are  in  evidence 
at  Metlakatla,  the  Indian  community  transferred  from 
British  Columbia,  some  fifty  miles  to  the  eastward,  i:i 
1887.  Mr.  Henry  S.  Wellcome,  an  able  and  warm 
hearted  champion  in  their  days  of  oppression,  in  his 
most  interesting  " Story  of  Metlakatla,"  says: 

This  people,  only  thirty  years  since,  consisted  of 
the  most  ferocious  Indian  tribes,  given  up  to  constant 
warfare,  notorious  for  treachery,  cannibalism,  and  other 
hideous  practices.  Mr.  William  Duncan,  with  rare  forti 
tude  and  genius,  began  single-handed  a  mission.  He 
educated  them  and  taught  them  Christianity  in  the 
simplest  manner;  at  the  same  time  introducing  peace 
ful  industries;  and  by  these  means  he  wrought  in  a 
single  generation  a  marvellous  transformation.  Where 
blood  has  flowed  continually  he  founded  the  model, 
self-supporting  village  of  Metlakatla,  of  one  thousand 
souls,  that  will  compare  favorably  with  almost  any 
village  of  its  size  in  England  or  America  for  intelli 
gence,  morality,  and  thrift. 


EDUCATION    AND    MISSIONS   199 


CATHOLIC  MISSIONS 

In  addition  to  its  labor  elsewhere  among  the  whites, 
the  Catholic  Church  has  contributed  much  to  the 
material  as  well  as  the  spiritual  advancement  of  the 
Yukon  natives,  especially  at  Nulato  and  Koserefski, 
the  better  known  Holy  Cross,  on  the  lower  Yukon. 
Conditions  are  not  favorable  for  great  improvement 
at  Nulato,  where  there  is  a  shifting  native  population, 
varying  from  250  to  350,  owing  to  its  being  the  centre 
of  trading  operations  for  that  region.  Between  liquor 
dealers,  traders,  steamboat  men,  and  prospectors,  the 
environment  is  somewhat  irreligious.  Great  benefits 
and  extraordinary  success  have  attended  the  work  of 
the  Holy  Cross  mission,  which  was  wisely  established 
apart  from  villages  or  posts,  across  the  Yukon  from 
the  Indian  village  of  Koserefski,  population  from 
300  to  400.  Despite  predictions  of  failure  as  to  agri 
culture  and  stock-raising,  this  mission,  established  in 
1886,  is  a  striking  evidence  of  what  zeal,  intelligence, 
and  labor  can  do  in  an  unfavorable  environment. 
Some  forty  acres  of  land  are  under  high  cultivation, 
yielding  such  wealth  of  vegetables,  forage,  and  flowers 
as  must  be  seen  to  be  fully  appreciated.  The  Jesuit 
fathers  have  supervised  the  construction  of  substantial 
log  buildings  for  house,  school,  and  church;  the  bring 
ing  of  the  land  to  cultivation;  the  construction  and 
operation  of  a  steamboat;  and  have  fostered  success 
ful  methods  of  fishing.  The  sisters,  meantime,  con 
join,  with  primary  instruction  for  the  girls,  methods 


200       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

of  household  economy,  instill  a  useful  knowledge  of 
womanly  duties,  and  inculcate  lessons  of  moral  value. 
From  fifty  to  sixty  children  are  here  taught  each  year, 
very  greatly  to  the  benefit  of  the  Esquimaux  who  live 
in  adjoining  regions. 

REINDEER 

The  wholesale  destruction  of  land  game,  the  prac 
tical  extermination  of  sea  game,  and  the  displacement 
of  natives  in  many  places  by  the  influx  of  miners  and 
prospectors,  wrought  such  disturbances  in  the  economy 
of  native  life  that  the  extermination  of  thousands  by 
starvation  was  imminent.  Among  other  methods  sug 
gested  to  improve  permanently  the  condition  of  the 
natives,  especially  of  the  Bering  Sea  region,  was  the 
importation  of  Siberian  reindeer.  This  action,  in 
spired  by  Dr.  Sheldon  Jackson,  promises  in  its  results 
to  be  the  most  important  benefit  ever  accorded  the 
natives  by  the  United  States. 

Doubtless  in  this,  as  in  other  novel  and  extended 
enterprises,  there  were  errors  of  administration  and 
policy,  with  exaggerated  expectations  and  consequent 
disappointments,  but,  as  a  whole,  the  policy  was  wise 
and  the  results  valuable  and  far-reaching. 

Initiated  by  Dr.  Jackson  in  1892,  Congress  came  to 
its  support,  and  between  1894  and  1908  appropriated 
$240,500  for  the  import  and  support  of  deer.  Im 
portations  aggregating  1,280  were  made  from  1892 
to  1902,  when  the  Russian  Government  withdrew  its 
permission  for  such  purchases  and  shipments.  The 
herds  have  rapidly  increased,  have  been  invaluable 


EDUCATION    AND    MISSIONS   201 

for  food  supply,  and  in  cases  have  rendered  important 
and  timely  service  in  transportation. 

There  have  been  three  classes  of  stations:  (1)  Gov 
ernment,  entirely  under  Federal  control;  (2)  Mission, 
where  herds  are  loaned  for  industrial  training,  an  equal 
number  to  be  eventually  returned;  (3)  Relief,  main 
tained  at  suitable  points  for  emergency  purposes. 

On  June  30,  1907,  there  were  twenty-four  stations, 
the  most  important  being  Point  Barrow,  with  629  deer 
(1905  figures);  Kotzebue,  732;  Teller,  941;  Wales,  942; 
Eaton,  1,008;  Unalaklik,  1,020;  Golofnin,  1,164;  and 
Bethel,  1,329. 

The  herds  now  aggregate  about  20,000;  at  the  last 
detailed  report  on  June  30,  1907,  numbering  15,839, 
of  which  4,519  were  fawns.  The  policy  of  the  Interior 
Department  looks  to  the  gradual  and  early  transfer 
of  all  deer  to  industrious  and  worthy  natives,  as  rapidly 
as  competent  and  worthy  men  are  available.  In  order 
properly  to  distribute  the  reindeer  and  foster  their 
care  and  breeding,  small  herds  were  loaned  to  such 
missions  as  agreed  to  train  Esquimaux  apprentices  as 
herders  and  return  at  the  end  of  five  years  the  number 
loaned,  retaining  the  increase. 

In  past  years  loans  or  gifts  of  reindeer  have  been 
made  to  the  Congregational  missions  at  Wales  and 
Shishmaref,  to  the  Swedish  Evangelical  Union  missions 
at  Golofnin  and  Unalaklik,  to  the  Society  of  Friends 
missions  at  Deering  and  Kotzebue,  to  the  Norwegian 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Mission  at  Teller,  to  the  Mora 
vian  Mission  at  Bethel,  to  the  Catholic  Mission  at 
Nulato,  and  to  the  Methodist  Mission  at  Sinuk. 


202       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

The  imported  Lapps  and  certain  natives  have  pros 
pered  in  the  reindeer  industry.  There  are  five  Lapps 
and  nine  natives  who  owned  in  1905  more  than  a 
hundred  deer,  the  richest  native  being  Ke-ok,  of  Deer- 
ing,  with  327  deer,  closely  followed  by  Mary  An-dre- 
wuk,  of  Eaton,  often  called  Reindeer  Queen,  with  317 
head.  Altogether  there  were  in  1905  seventy-five 
natives  owning  deer.  Owners  may  kill  surplus  males 
and  sell  their  meat  and  skins,  but  female  deer  are  not 
allowed  to  be  sold  to  white  men. 

The  satisfactory  results  of  the  system  are  shown 
both  by  the  increase,  and  also  by  the  ownership,  which 
in  1907  was  vested  to  the  extent  of  fourteen  per  cent,  in 
Lapp  instructors,  twenty-two  in  missions,  twenty- 
three  in  the  United  States,  and  forty-one  per  cent,  in 
Esquimaux  reindeer  herders  and  apprentices.  Unfortu 
nately,  the  benefits  of  the  reindeer  service  are  strictly 
limited,  as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  only  114  Esqui 
maux,  about  one  per  cent.,  own  deer.  The  greatest 
benefit,  however,  is  moral  and  educative,  instilling  a 
personal  self-respect,  sense  of  ownership,  and  inclina 
tion  to  self-support. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — Jackson:  Alaska.  Wellcome:  Story  of  Metlakatla. 
Updegraff:  Alaska  School  Service  and  Reindeer  Service  (Reprint  Ch. 
16,  Report  of  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education  for  1907). 


CHAPTER  XXII 
SOUTHWESTERN  ALASKA  AND  KODIAK 

OUTSIDE  of  the  usual  route  of  excursions  lie  the  Kenai 
and  Alaska  Peninsulas,  and  the  adjacent  Kodiak 
Archipelago.  By  a  steamer  that  leaves  Valdez  about 
the  middle  of  each  month  the  traveller  reaches  certain 
of  the  villages  and  settlements,  but  special  local  trans 
portation  is  necessary  to  carry  out  any  plans  for  busi 
ness  or  pleasure. 

In  a  measure  these  are  unknown  regions,  which  are 
well  worth  either  a  casual  or  extended  visit  for  those 
interested  in  the  fauna  and  flora  of  high  latitudes, 
the  forms  and  forces  of  volcanic  action,  or  the  ob 
servation  of  the  various  tribes  which  are  found  in  this 
area. 

KENAl  PENINSULA 

Kenai  Peninsula  is  heavily  timbered  throughout/ 
its  mountains  being  forested  up  to  an  altitude  of  about 
2,000  feet.  While  the  timber  is  principally  spruce, 
there  are  large  areas  of  hemlock,  birch,  poplar,  and 
other  less  valuable  woods.  Many  of  the  valleys  open 
ing  toward  Cook  Inlet  are  fertile  lands,  suited  to  the 
production  of  the  more  important  vegetables  and 
clothed  with  fine  grass  of  such  quality  and  abundance 
as  enable  stock  in  many  places  to  live  on  the  winter 

203 


204       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

ranges.  Berries  are  in  great  abundance,  and  game 
of  many  kinds  is  plentiful.  While  the  small  streams 
are  not  well  supplied  with  fish,  yet  the  rivers  swarm 
with  salmon  in  season.  The  banks  in  the  adjacent 
seas  are  frequented  by  cod  in  great  numbers  and  by 
halibut  to  a  certain  extent.  Apart  from  its  resources 
of  gold  and  coal,  elsewhere  mentioned,  and  its  game, 
timber,  and  agricultural  possibilities,  its  landscapes 
of  grandeur  and  picturesqueness  are  varied  and  im 
posing. 

There  is  quite  a  population  on  Kenai  Peninsula, 
which  lives  on  its  industries  of  mining,  lumbering,  fish 
ing,  hunting,  and  for  several  years  in  the  work  of  rail 
way  construction. 

The  peninsula  was  brought  prominently  before  the 
public  by  the  project  of  connecting  the  new  town  of 
Seward,  on  Resurrection  Bay,  with  the  gold  placer 
mines  of  the  Tanana  Valley,  by  a  route  north  to  Turn- 
again  Arm,  west  of  Sunrise,  and  thence  up  the  valley 
of  the  Susitna.  Financial  difficulties  have  thrown  the 
road  into  the  hands  of  receivers,  and  construction 
work  is  suspended.  The  initial  point  was  located  at 
Seward  owing  to  the  upper  part  of  Cook  Inlet  being 
closed  from  November  to  March  by  ice. 

The  gold  mines  of  Turnagain  Arm,  brought  into 
disrepute  in  their  early  days  by  ill-advised  methods 
and  unsuitable  or  worthless  machinery,  are  productive 
and  profitable  on  a  small  scale.  The  Arm,  however,  is 
an  important  base  for  the  placer-mining  operations 
to  the  north  in  the  watershed  of  the  Susitna  and  Yentna. 

The  lignites  of  the  Kachemak  Bay  region  are  in 


UNIVERSITY 

OF 


SOUTHWESTERN    ALASKA     205 

large  quantities  and  furnish  a  coal  fairly  good  for  steam 
ing  purposes,  but  under  existing  labor  conditions  its 
exploitation  is  not  economically  attractive.  Later, 
with  the  extension  of  the  Alaska  Central  Railroad,  the 
high-grade  coals  of  the  Matanuska  Valley  will  prove 
profitable  (Chapter  XIII). 

COOK  INLET  NATIVES 

The  natives  of  this  region  are  of  various  tribes,  and 
thus  the  visitor  is  able  to  contrast  the  characteristics 
of  the  different  types.  On  the  extreme  northern  coast 
the  interior  Indians,  the  Athapascans,  are  found. 
On  the  southern  shores  are  the  Kodiaks,  of  an  Esqui 
maux  type,  and  at  the  end  of  Alaska  Peninsula  are 
scattering  Aleuts.  In  addition  there  are  Creoles  on 
the  west  shores  of  Kenai  Peninsula,  of  mixed  Russian 
and  native  blood.  The  Creoles  are  scattered  along  the 
coast  at  Hope,  Kasilof,  and  other  small  settlements, 
but  the  greater  majority  are  at  Kenai  and  Seldovia. 
They  have  schools  and  churches,  under  the  Russian 
Church,  and  make  a  living  by  hunting,  trapping,  fish 
ing,  and  when  occasion  offers  as  laborers  or  guides. 
In  addition  to  lighterage  and  placer  mining,  they  form 
a  considerable  part  of  the  working  force  at  the  salmon 
canneries  at  Kasilof  and  Kenai,  and  are  also  found  at 
the  local  saw-mills  and  lumber  camps. 

Game  has  been  very  abundant  on  Kenai  Peninsula, 
and  yet  exists  in  large  numbers.  The  most  valuable 
and  interesting  species  are  brown  and  black  bears, 
moose,  mountain  sheep,  and  foxes.  The  Kenai  moose 


206       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

are  among  the  largest  known,  and  they  are  hunted 
vigorously  both  for  trophy  antlers  and  for  meat,  which 
is  sold  in  large  quantities,  with  the  meat  of  mountain 
sheep,  to  the  miners  and  prospectors. 
Of  scenery  Burroughs  writes  of  Kachemack  Bay: 

Grandeur  looked  down  on  it  from  the  mountains 
around,  especially  from  the  great  volcanic  peaks, 
Iliamna  and  Redoubt,  sixty  miles  across  the  inlet  to 
the  west.  The  former  rises  over  12,000  feet  from  the 
sea,  and,  bathed  in  sunshine,  was  an  impressive  spec 
tacle.  It  was  wrapped  in  a  mantle  of  snow,  but  it 
evidently  was  warm  at  heart,  for  we  could  see  steam 
issuing  from  two  points  near  its  summit. 

Familiar  with  the  beauties  and  attractions  of  Kenai, 
Mr.  A.  J.  Stone  *  delightfully  describes  it : 

It  is  a  land  of  magnificent,  rugged  mountains,  and 
of  beautiful  rolling  meadow  lands;  a  land  of  eternal 
fields  of  glistening  snow  and  ice,  and  of  everlasting 
fires  of  burning  lignite;  of  frozen  moss  and  lichen- 
covered  plains,  and  of  vegetation  that  is  tropical  in  its 
luxuriance;  a  land  of  extensive  coal-fields,  smoking 
volcanoes,  and  of  earthquakes  so  frequent  as  to  fail 
to  excite  comment  among  its  native  residents;  of 
charming  quiet  bays  and  harbors,  and  of  tides  and 
tide-rips  among  the  greatest  in  the  world;  of  almost 
endless  days  in  summer,  and  of  long,  dismal  winter 
nights;  of  an  abundant  animal  life  both  in  the  water 
and  on  the  land.  Nowhere  else  in  the  world  does 
nature  exert  itself  in  so  many  ways  as  in  the  Kenai 
Peninsula. 

The  waters,  the  mountains,  the  great  rivers  of  ice, 

i"An  Explorer  Naturalist  in  the  Arctic."  Scribner's  Magazine, 
vol.  xxxiii,  p.  38. 


SOUTHWESTERN    ALASKA     207 

the  vegetable  and  animal  life,  all  vie  with  each  other 
in  the  production  of  something  unusual  and  wonderful. 


ALASKA  PENINSULA 

It  may  be  added  that  the  ocean  steamers  do  not  pro 
ceed  beyond  Seldovia,  and  that  during  the  open 
season — from  late  March  to  early  November — the  north 
and  west  coasts  of  Cook  Inlet  (Turnagain  Arm  and 
Alaska  Peninsula)  are  reached  by  small  and  some 
what  irregular  steamers. 

The  Alaska  Peninsula  has,  indeed,  at  its  northeast 
ern  extremity  extended  areas  of  lake  country,  with  open 
valleys  and  great  tundras;  but  its  chief  characteristic 
is  the  series  of  lofty  volcanic  peaks,  which  continue 
for  a  distance  of  more  than  700  miles,  from  Redoubt 
southwest  to  Pogromni.  Their  sharp  abruptness  and 
rocky  ruggedness  dominate  the  landscape,  the  pointed 
summits  being  made  more  striking  by  the  marshy 
valleys  and  dreary  tundras  at  their  bases,  which  break 
the  continuity  of  the  range  into  an  irregular  succession 
of  isolated  cones. 

Here  the  land  game,  though  caribou  occupy  the 
land,  as  shown  by  the  map  on  the  next  page,  gives 
way  to  the  products  of  the  sea  chase.  Unfortunately 
the  palmy  days  of  walrus  hunting  and  otter  catching 
are  past,  and  there  are  scarcely  a  dozen  permanent 
Esquimaux  settlements  on  the  more  than  2,000  miles 
of  indented  coast  along  the  peninsula.  Belkofski, 
the  former  headquarters  of  the  sea-otter  and  other 
fur  trade,  has  lost  its  ancient  glory  and  importance. 


208       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

Nevertheless,  the  peninsula  is  an  attractive,  almost 
unvisited  and  unexploited  field  for  the  hunter,  the 
naturalist,  and  especially  for  the  lover  of  the  unusual 
and  beautiful  in  nature. 

Several  members  of  the  Harriman  Expedition,  land 
ing  at  Kukak  Bay,  on  the  north  shore  of  Shelikof  Strait, 


MAP   NO.   5 — DISTRIBUTION   OF   CARIBOU   AND   MOUNTAIN   GOATS 

climbed  to  the  top  of  the  green  slope  back  of  their 
camp,  and  suddenly  found  themselves  on  the  brink 
of  an  almost  perpendicular  mountain  wall  with  a  deep 
notch,  through  which  they  looked  down  2,000  feet  into 
a  valley  beneath  invaded  by  a  great  glacier  that  swept 
down  from  the  snow-white  peaks  beyond. 


SOUTHWESTERN    ALASKA     209 

Burroughs,  in  "  Summer  Holidays  in  Alaskan 
Waters/'  adds: 

For  nearly  2,000  miles  we  had  seen  mountains 
and  valleys  covered  with  unbroken  spruce,  cedar, 
and  hemlock  forests.  Now  we  were  to  have  2,000 
miles  without  a  tree,  the  valleys  and  mountains  as 
green  as  a  lawn,  chiefly  of  volcanic  origin,  many  of 
the  cones  ideally  perfect,  the  valleys  deepened  and 
carved  by  the  old  glaciers,  and  heights  and  lowlands 
alike  covered  with  a  carpet  of  grass,  ferns,  and  flowers. 

KODIAK  ARCHIPELAGO 

Among  the  islands  of  this  group  Afognak  is  interest 
ing,  as  a  fish-culture  reservation  and  for  its  wooded 
areas,  which  caused  it  to  be  included  in  the  Chugach 
National  Forest.  There  are  several  hundred  inhab 
itants,  who  have  a  large  Greek  chapel,  some  cattle, 
flocks  of  domestic  fowl,  and  thriving  vegetable  gar 
dens  that  supplement  the  usual  means  of  livelihood 
by  fishing. 

Large,  rugged,  and  commercially  important,  Kodiak 
is  one  of  the  most  widely  known  of  the  Alaskan  islands. 
It  is  the  site  of  the  first  trading  post;  the  scene  of 
cruelty  and  repression  as  to  its  natives,  and  was  first 
to  have  a  church  founded  and  a  school  opened.  Ko 
diak  lost  its  prestige  when  the  headquarters  of  the 
Russian  Company  was  transferred  to  Sitka.  With 
its  sea-otter  catch  sadly  reduced  and  its  population 
decimated  by  disease,  Kodiak  entered  unpropitiously 
within  the  circle  of  American  civilization,  and  long  held 
to  Russian  ways  and  interests. 


210       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

Its  present  population  of  nearly  a  thousand — Ameri 
cans,  Russians,  Creoles,  and  Indians — live  principally 
on  fishing,  though  there  are  some  few  otter  taker. 
Its  Karluk  River  is  the  most  famous  salmon  stream 
in  Alaska,  and  its  canneries  afford  the  primary  means 
of  subsistence  for  the  natives. 

To  many  Americans  the  island  is  best  known  through 
its  enormous  beast,  the  great  Kodiak  bear — the  largest 
species  in  the  world. 

Except  on  the  eastern  coast,  the  island  is  treeless,  but 
its  smooth,  rounded  hills  are  covered  with  luxuriant 
verdure.  During  the  brief  summer  season  the  island 
is  most  beautiful,  the  emerald  surfaces  being  brilliant 
with  countless  wild  flowers  in  great  variety.  Cattlo 
thrive;  grain  does  not  advance  beyond  the  forage 
state;  vegetables  do  well.  Ample  supplies  for  com 
fortable  living  are  to  be  had  from  the  large  store  of 
the  Northern  Commercial  Company  in  the  village. 
There  is  a  fine  church,  and  both  the  United  States  and 
the  Greek  Church  maintain  schools. 

Burroughs  alludes  to  the  island  as  a  pastoral  para 
dise,  and  says  of  Kodiak: 

So  secluded,  so  remote,  so  peaceful,  such  a  min 
gling  of  the  domestic,  the  pastoral,  the  sylvan,  with 
the  wild  and  rugged;  such  emerald  heights,  such  flow 
ery  vales,  such  blue  arms  and  recesses  of  the  sea,  and 
such  a  vast  green  solitude  stretching  away  to  the 
west  and  to  the  north  and  to  the  south !  Bewitching 
Kodiak,  the  spell  of  thy  summer  freshness  and  placid 
ity  is  still  upon  me. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
ALASKAN   GAME 

WITH  material  wealth,  easy  transportation,  and  im 
proved  fire-arms,  civilized  man  has  exploited  the  large 
game  of  the  world  during  the  past  half  century  so 
mercilessly  and  persistently  that  many  species  are 
practically  extinct.  Among  American  game  may  be 
mentioned  the  buffalo  on  land,  the  sea-otter  and  the 
sea-lion  on  the  ocean. 

Devastation  among  the  sea  game  of  Alaskan  waters 
has  been  enormous  in  amount  and  frightful  in  its  results. 
Elliott  states  that  in  the  seventy  years  prior  to  the 
cession  of  Alaska  there  were  annually  killed  in  its 
waters  10,000  walrus,  which  were  the  principal  means 
of  subsistence  and  of  life  of  from  seven  to  eight  thou 
sand  natives.  In  forty  years  the  whalers  have  prac 
tically  annihilated  the  animal  in  Alaskan  seas;  the 
products,  for  the  past  ten  years  scarcely  exceeding 
$10,000  annually,  are  now  ended.  There  were  shipped 
out  of  Alaska  twenty  walrus  hides  in  1906  and  nine 
teen  in  1907. 

Of  the  effect  on  the  natives  of  walrus  exploitation 
J.  N.  Cobb,  Assistant  Agent  Alaskan  Fisheries,  reports: 

The  white  hunters  rarely  make  use  of  anything  but 
the  two  long  curved  tusks,  which  average  about  five 
pounds  to  the  pair.  If  time  permits,  the  flesh  is  boiled 
and  the  oil  saved. 

211 


212       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

To  many  of  the  Esquimaux,  especially  on  the  Arctic 
shore,  the  walrus  is  almost  a  necessity  of  life,  and  the 
devastation  wrought  among  the  herds  by  the  whalers 
has  been,  and  is  yet,  the  cause  of  fearful  suffering  and 
of  death  to  many  of  the  natives.  The  flesh  is  food  for 
the  men  and  dogs;  the  oil  is  used  for  food,  for  heating, 
and  lighting;  the  skin  makes  a  cover  for  the  large 
skin  boats;  the  intestines  make  water-proof  clothing. 

The  commercial  exploitation  of  other  aquatic  game, 
although  not  so  destructive  in  its  outcome,  has  been 
fatally  successful.  From  1881  to  1890,  the  average 
annual  number  of  sea-otter  caught  was  4,784;  in 
1905,  61;  in  1906,  28;  and  in  1907,  16  only.  In 
similar  periods  the  land-otter  decreased  from  an  an 
nual  average  of  2,730  to  1,889,  1,709,  and  1,393  respec 
tively.  The  beaver  from  the  catch  of  6,094  annually 
fell  off  to  1,935  in  1905, 1,536  in  1906,  and  1,159  in  1907. 

The  vast  area  of  Alaska,  its  enormous  number  of 
large  game,  the  difficulty  of  cross-country  travel,  and 
the  expense  of  time  and  effort  to  hunt  such  game  have 
been  the  principal  factors  in  its  past  preservation. 

It  would  require  a  volume  by  itself  to  consider 
game  conditions  in  their  general  aspects,  so  that  brief 
allusions  are  here  made  to  the  more  important  species 
only.  These  consist  of  bears,  caribou,  deer,  moose, 
mountain  goats,  and  mountain  sheep. 

Bears 

Of  the  thirteen  kinds  of  Alaskan  bears  recognized 
by  scientists,  the  general  public  practically  know  only 
four  general  types:  the  brown  bears,  the  grizzlies,  the 
black  bears,  and  the  polar  bears. 


ALASKAN    GAME  213 

The  belief  that  polar  bears  are  numerous  in  Alaska 
is  not  justified  by  facts.  They  are  very  rarely  found 
in  the  Bering  Sea  region,  and  are  infrequent  even  on 
the  Arctic  coast,  where  they  confine  themselves  largely 
to  the  polar  pack,  except  when  hibernating  or  when 
with  young. 

The  grizzlies  are  of  two  varieties,  whose  habits  are 
similar  to  those  of  the  grizzlies  of  the  United  States. 
The  Kenai  grizzly  has  his  habitat  on  the  peninsula 
for  which  he  is  named,  wiiile  the  interior  species  is 
found  most  frequently  in  the  Endicott,  Nuzotin,  and 
Alaskan  Ranges,  usually  near  the  upper  limit  of  timber. 

Black  bears  roam  over  all  Alaska  south  and  east  of 
the  Yukon  and  Kuskokwim  tundras.  They  are  not  of 
excessive  size,  though  the  largest  of  twelve,  killed  on 
the  Alaskan  Peninsula,  had  an  unstretched  skin  seven 
feet  nine  and  a  half  inches  long.  Quite  shy,  and  their 
color  frequently  harmonizing  with  their  environment, 
they  are  often  located  with  difficulty.  While  the  coast 
bears  are  mostly  black  in  color,  those  of  the  interior  are 
not  infrequently  of  the  cinnamon  variety.  Perhaps  the 
most  interesting  species  of  this  group  is  the  so-called 
blue  or  glacier  bear  of  the  St.  Elias  Alps,  which  is  very 
rarely  seen  and  imperfectly  known. 

The  most  numerous  and  important  group  is  that  of 
the  brown  bears,  which  from  their  size  and  ferocity 
are  widely  known.  They  are  the  largest  carnivorous 
animals  in  the  world,  being  approached  in  size  only 
by  the  polar  bear  and  by  their  Kamchatkan  relatives. 
Apparently  the  largest  Kodiak  bearskins  known  are  of 
a  Kidder  variety,  ten  feet,  and  of  a  Ball  variety,  ten 


214       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

feet  two  inches;  there  is,  however,  a  stretched  skin 
measuring  thirteen  feet. 

The  brown  bear  ranges  almost  exclusively  in  the 
coast  region,  and  is  found  from  extreme  southern 
Alaska  to  the  Alaska  Peninsula  and  on  islands  ad 
jacent  thereto.  They  are  not  only  terrifying  frcm 
their  size  and  great  strength,  but  are,  occasionally  at 
least,  dangerous  to  traveller  as  well  as  to  hunter. 
They  are  great  and  skilful  salmon  fishers,  though  vege 
tarians  and  carnivorous  when  the  salmon  season  is 
past. 

The  brown  bears  are  divided  by  scientists  into  the 
following  species:  Kodiak  bear,  on  Kodiak;  the  Dall 
and  the  Kidder  bears,  on  Alaska  Peninsula;  Yakut  at 
bear,  in  St.  Elias  region;  Sitka  bear,  on  Baranof  Island; 
and  Admiralty  bear,  on  Admiralty  Island. 

Caribou 

The  caribou  of  Alaska  are  the  only  ones  now  found 
in  the  United  States.  Their  habitat  (see  text  map  in 
Chapter  XXII)  is  the  reindeer-moss  regions;  largely 
the  tundras  and  barren  mountain  ridges.  Wherever 
man  comes  in  numbers  the  unsuspicious  caribou  are 
speedily  exterminated  or  driven  away,  for  they  are 
gregarious,  are  not  keen-sighted,  and  display  scant 
sagacity  in  eluding  hunters.  They  keep  to  the  open 
country  and  rarely  enter  timber,  so  that  they  are 
readily  found  and  easily  slaughtered.  They  suffer  less 
from  the  antler-trophy  hunters  than  from  the  meat 
hunters  who -supply  mining  camps  and  prospectors. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Osgood,  in  his  excellent  "Game  Resources 


ALASKAN    GAME  215 

of  Alaska,"  from  which  many  of  these  data  are  drawn, 
says  of  their  migrations: 

The  great  herds  in  the  fall  of  the  year  perform  a  more 
or  less  regular  movement  in  the  nature  of  a  migration, 
and  within  certain  limits  their  course  of  travel  and 
times  of  arrival  at  given  points  are  well  known.  The 
best  known  of  the  large  herds  is  the  one  which  collects 
along  the  watershed  between  the  Yukon  and  Tanana 
rivers.  This  herd  still  numbers  from  1,000  to  3,000 
or  more  animals,  although  levied  upon  annually  by 
hunters  from  Fortymile,  Eagle,  Circle,  and  the  min 
ing  towns  on  the  Tanana  River.  Herds,  perhaps 
equally  large,  range  the  little-known  Arctic  slope  along 
the  Endicott  Mountains. 

While  hunters  usually]  divide  caribou  into  two  gen 
eral  classes,  woodland  and  barren-ground,  scientists 
recognize  three  species :  the  Arctic,  ranging  in  northern 
Alaska;  the  Grant,  on  Alaska  Peninsula;  and  the 
Stone,  on  Kenai  Peninsula. 

Alaska  Moose 

Possibly  the  giant  moose  is  the  most  interesting  of 
the  large  game,  for  it  is  not  only  the  largest  land  ani 
mal  in  America,  but  is  also  the  largest  member  of  the 
deer  family  in  the  world.  The  moose  is  of  enormous 
size,  and  its  weight  sometimes  exceeds  1,600  pounds. 
The  average  spread  of  their  magnificent  antlers  is 
over  five  feet  from  tip  to  tip;  there  are  many  recorded 
spreads  exceeding  six  feet,  with  a  maximum  example 
of  six  feet  nine  inches. 

As  is  shown  by  the  map  on  the  next  page,  their  range 
practically  covers  timbered  Alaska,  except  in  the  south- 


216       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

east.  They  are  found  in  quite  large  numbers  in  the  Yukon 
Valley,  between  Circle  and  Eagle,  but  are  especially  nu 
merous  on  Kenai  Peninsula,  where  favorable  environ 
ment  produces  specimens  of  a  size  unequalled  elsewhere. 

Deer 

The  only  Alaskan  variety,  the  Sitkan  deer,  is  ex 
ceedingly  abundant  in  southeastern  Alaska,  where  h 


MAP   NO.    6 — DISTRIBUTION   OF   MOOSE   AND    DEER 

inhabits  the  Alexander  Archipelago  (see  preceding 
text  map)  and  the  adjacent  mainland  from  the  bound 
ary  north  to  Juneau.  Slaughtered  by  the  thousand 
in  past  years,  the  Sitkan  deer  now  bids  fair  to  hold  its 
own  under  recent  game  laws. 


ALASKAN    GAME  217 


Mountain  Goats 

This  unique  animal  is  rather  of  the  chamois  or  ante 
lope  type  than  of  the  goat  family.  It  has  long,  pure 
white  hair,  and  the  horns  of  both  sexes  are  small, 
(from  seven  to  ten  inches  in  length),  recurved,  and 
blackish.  Its  range  (see  map  in  Chapter  XXII) 
is  almost  entirely  confined  to  the  coast  slopes  of  the 
mainland  mountains,  from  Portland  Canal  north  to 
the  western  spurs  of  the  Chugach  Mountains. 

Osgood,  in  his  interesting  description,  writes: 

It  lives  almost  entirely  at  high  altitudes,  frequenting 
steep  cliffs,  rock-walled  canons,  and  summits  of  an 
even  more  forbidding  nature  than  those  traversed 
by  mountain  sheep.  To  approach  a  mountain  goat 
successfully  is  more  a  feat  of  mountaineering  than  of 
crafty  hunting.  To  get  above  a  white  goat  is  in  most 
cases  to  get  to  the  ultimate  heights. 

Mountain  Sheep 

The  pure  white  Ball  variety  is  the  only  mountain 
sheep  of  Alaska.  Especially  a  mountaineer,  the  white 
sheep  is  only  absent  from  mountains  in  the  vicinity 
of  permanent  settlements,  whether  white  or  native, 
and  from  the  Alaska  Peninsula  and  coastal  fronts 
of  the  Alaskan  range. 

Of  the  hunt  of  the  mountain  sheep  Osgood  relates: 

They  are  keen  of  vision  and,  unlike  most  game  ani 
mals,  depend  little  upon  scent  for  warning  of  danger; 
but  in  spite  of  this  it  is  no  easy  task  to  approach  one 
of  these  alert,  far-sighted  animals  on  an  open  mountain- 


218       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

side.  To  those  physically  equipped  for  it,  hunting 
mountain  sheep  is  unquestionably  one  of  the  greatest 
sports,  and  Alaska  is  one  of  the  best  fields  for  it  in  the 
world.  To  the  inspiring  and  exhilarating  joys  of  moun 
taineering  are  added  the  uncertainties  and  excite 
ments  of  the  chase. 


HUNTING  AND  PRESERVATION  OF  BIG  GAME 

Of  Alaska  as  a  hunting  ground  Radclyffe  writes: 

From  a  sportsman's  point  of  view  the  country  is 
still  a  paradise,  for  big  game  of  various  kinds  still 
abounds;  and  owing  to  the  stringent  game  laws  passed 
by  the  United  States  it  appears  to  be  well  protected 
for  many  years  to  come. 

Of  his  five  months  of  hunting  in  western  Alaska, 
Colonel  Caine  says: 

The  inducement  was  the  fact  that  there  was  one  of 
the  finest  natural  hunting  grounds  in  the  world,  and 
one  not  yet  shot  out.  Was  not  the  Kodiak  huge  bear 
the  biggest  of  his  species  on  earth,  bar  the  polar  bear? 
Was  not  the  Alaska  moose  a  veritable  giant,  with  a 
spread  of  antlers  averaging  twelve  inches  more  than 
his  cousins  of  Canada?  And  further,  was  there  not 
the  white  Alaskan  sheep,  the  most  graceful  and  beauti 
ful  of  the  big-horn  family,  though  not  the  largest? 
Besides  there  were  caribou,  walrus,  seals,  sea-lions, 
wolves,  and  wolverines. 

The  preservation  of  Alaskan  game  has  always  been 
recognized  as  a  subject  of  great  public  importance. 
As  elsewhere  stated  Congress,  in  1869,  established  the 
Pribilof  reservation  for  the  protection  of  the  fur-seal, 


ALASKAN    GAME  219 

and  at  intervals,  too  long  it  must  be  said,  action  has 
been  secured  to  preserve  other  game.  How  great  was 
the  moral  necessity  of  similar  Congressional  legislation 
appears  in  the  brief  allusions  made  in  this  chapter  to 
the  passing  of  the  walrus. 

A  comprehensive  law  for  the  protection  of  game 
was  passed  in  1902,  and  regulations  thereof  were  made 
in  1903  as  to  caribou,  walrus,  waterfowl,  trophies,  etc. 
The  effect  was  practically  nil  as  to  walrus,  and  in 
effective  in  many  other  ways. 

The  establishment  of  the  great  forest  reserves  in 
Alaska  was  beneficial,  directly  as  well  as  indirectly, 
to  game  preservation,  as,  under  Forest  Regulations, 
No.  84,  forest  officials  are  charged  to  co-operate  in 
the  "  enforcement  of  local  laws  for  the  protection  of 
game." 

A  great  advance  was  made  in  the  law  of  May  11, 
1908,  which  divided  Alaska  into  two  game  districts, 
one  north  and  one  south  of  latitude  62°,  with  special 
seasons  for  each;  establishing  a  non-resident  hunting 
license,  with  fees  of  $50  for  citizens  of  the  United  States 
and  $100  for  aliens,  and  resident  and  non-resident 
shipping  licenses,  ranging  from  $5  to  $150;  authorizing 
the  governor  to  issue  licenses,  appoint  wardens,  establish 
regulations  for  the  registration  of  guides,  and  fix  the 
rates  for  licensing  guides  and  the  rates  of  compensa 
tion  for  guiding.  (Stat.  60th  Cong.,  102.) 

Under  the  law,  game  animals  include  deer,  moose, 
caribou,  mountain  sheep,  mountain  goats,  brown  bear, 
sea-lions,  and  walrus ;  game  waterfowl  comprise  ducks, 
brant,  geese,  swans,  grouse,  ptarmigan,  and  shore  birds. 


220       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

The  Secretary  of  Agriculture  is  authorized  to  mod 
ify  regulations  according  to  necessities,  and  even  to 
prohibit  killing  entirely  for  a  period  not  exceeding 
two  years.  There  are  rigid  regulations  as  to  licenses, 
killing,  sales,  and  exports.  The  salient  features  are 
as  follows: 

Licenses  are  granted  by  the  governor,  expire  De 
cember  31;  the  cost  to  a  non-resident  is  $50,  to  an 
alien  $100.  Each  license  has  coupons  authorizing 
the  shipment  of  two  moose  (if  killed  north  of  62°), 
four  deer,  three  caribou  (except  from  Kenai  Peninsula 
until  1912),  three  mountain  sheep,  three  goats,  and 
three  brown  bear. 

Close  Seasons.— 

North  of  latitude  62°: 

Moose,  caribou,  sheep  .    .    .    Dec.  11-Aug.  1. 
South  of  latitude  62° : 

Deer       June  1-Dec.  15. 

Mountain  goat Feb.  2-Apr.  1. 

Moose,    caribou    (see   excep 
tion),  sheep Jan.  1-Aug.  20. 

Brown  bear July  2-Oct.  1. 

Grouse,  ptarmigan,  shore  birds, 

waterfowl Mar.  2-Sept.  1. 

Exception:  Caribou  on  the  Kenai- 

Peninsula.    To      ....     Aug.  20,  1912. 

Game  animals  or  birds  may  be  killed  at  any  time 
for  food  or  clothing  by  native  Indians  or  Esquimaux, 
or  by  miners  or  explorers  in  need  of  food,  but  game  so 
killed  cannot  be  shipped  or  sold. 


ALASKAN    GAME  221 

Export  of  Game  Prohibited. — Deer,  moose,  caribou, 
sheep,  goat,  bear,  or  hides  of  these  animals;  wild 
birds,  except  eagles,  or  any  parts  thereof. 

Exceptions:  Specimens  may  be  exported  under  re 
strictions  imposed  by  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture, 
and  trophies  of  big  game  under  licenses  issued  by  the 
governor.  Not  more  than  one  general  ($40)  license 
and  two  special  ($150)  moose  licenses  issued  to  one 
person  in  one  year.  Each  shipper  must  file  with  cus 
toms  office  at  port  of  shipment  an  affidavit  that  he  has 
not  violated  the  game  law,  that  the  trophy  to  be  shipped 
has  not  been  bought  or  purchased,  has  not  been  sold, 
and  is  not  shipped  for  purpose  of  sale;  that  he  is  the 
owner  of  the  trophy,  and,  in  case  of  moose,  whether  the 
animal  from  which  it  was  taken  was  killed  north  or 
south  of  latitude  62°. 

Limits  for  Capture  of  Game. — Two  moose,  three  each 
of  caribou,  sheep,  and  brown  bears  a  season;  twenty- 
five  grouse,  ptarmigan,  shore  birds,  or  waterfowl  a 
day. 

Guides. — They  must  be  either  American  citizens 
or  natives  of  Alaska,  and  have  a  certificate  from  the 
governor,  who  fixes  their  fees.  The  employment  of 
a  registered  guide  is  obligatory  on  all  hunting  on 
Kenai  Peninsula. 

The  reservations  recently  made  for  the  protection  of 
game  birds  and  animals  are  mentioned  in  Chapter  VI. 
By  their  establishment  the  United  States  has  finally 
come  to  recognize  officially  that  as  a  hunting  region 
Alaska  is  scarcely  surpassed  on  the  western  hemi 
sphere,  and  that  its  vast  game  resources  should  be 


222       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

so  conserved  as  to  yield  a  material  income  for  many 
generations. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — Caine,  C.:  Summer  and  Fall  in  Western  Alaska, 
1903.  Stone,  A.  J.:  The  Moose,  1902.  Radclyffe,  C.  R.  E.:  Big 
Game  Shooting  in  Alaska,  1903.  Kidder,  J.  H.:  Big  Game  Shoot 
ing  in  Alaska  (Boone  and  Crockett  Club),  1904.  Osgood,  W.  H.: 
Game  Resources  of  Alaska,  1907  (Year  Book,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agri 
culture). 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
SCIENTIFIC  FIELDS  OF  RESEARCH 

WITH  the  material  development  of  Alaska  there  have 
risen  many  questions  in  which  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  so-called  purely  scientific  character  has  been  of  great 
economical  importance.  Researches  as  to  climatic  and 
geologic  conditions,  once  discouraged  by  the  Federal 
authorities  in  the  Territory,  are  now  pursued  as  in 
dispensable  to  successful  mining  operations.  As  else 
where  mentioned  the  work  of  the  United  States  Geo 
logical  Survey  has  progressed  with  astonishing  rapidity, 
owing  to  its  recognized  bearing  on  the  exploitation  of 
material  resources,  which  thus  elicits  liberal  govern 
mental  support. 

The  United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries  has  also  been 
able  to  add  much  relative  to  subjects  allied  to  the 
duties  which  have  devolved  on  it  in  connection  with 
the  great  and  remunerative  industries  over  which  it 
exercises  a  general  and  indefinite  supervision.  Sim 
ilarly,  the  various  bureaus  of  the  Department  of  Agri 
culture  have  improved  every  opportunity  to  extend 
scientific  knowledge  of  the  vast  and  most  imperfectly 
known  regions  of  the  Territory.  Officers  of  the  army, 
of  the  navy,  of  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  of  the 
Census  Bureau,  and  of  the  Revenue  Marine  Service, 
living  up  to  the  high  standards  of  modern  civilization, 

223 


224       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

have  very  materially  contributed  to  the  world's  knowl 
edge  by  investigating  and  reporting  on  all  matters, 
though  foreign  to  their  duties,  falling  under  their  ob 
servation  during  Alaskan  service. 

It  is  obvious,  however,  that  subjects  pertaining  to 
the  domain  of  pure  science  have  received  scant  sup 
port  from  the  United  States  as  regards  Alaska. 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  to  know  that  the  most 
extended  scientific  researches  in  Alaska  have  been 
those  made  independently  of  the  Government.  Refer 
ence  is  had  to  those  made  possible  by  the  liberality 
and  broad-mindedness  of  a  well-known  citizen,  Mr. 
E.  H.  Harriman,  whose  private  expedition  of  1899 
was  accompanied  by  many  distinguished  scientific 
men  as  his  guests. 

The  history  of  the  Harriman  Expedition  has  been 
published  under  the  supervision  of  Dr.  C.  Hart  Mer- 
riam,  in  volumes  that  are  highly  creditable  to  all 
concerned,  whether  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of 
typography,  reproductions,  its  popular  form,  or  the 
scientific  treatment.  In  this  work  Professor  Dall,  in 
his  valuable  article  of  " Discovery  and  Exploration/7 
says: 

While  the  sublime  scenery  of  the  southern  coast 
will  long  be  the  goal  of  tourists,  we  may  confidently 
anticipate  for  years  to  come  a  rich  harvest  for  the 
scientific  explorers  and  naturalists  whose  good  fortune 
may  lead  them  to  the  fascinating  study  of  the  virgin 
north. 

The  Biological  Survey,  of  the  Department  of  Agri 
culture,  has  made  biological  reconnoissances  of  Cook 


FIELDS    OF    RESEARCH        225 

Inlet,  1900,  Yukon  River  region,  1899,  and  base  of 
Alaska  Peninsula,  1902,  and  thus  materially  contrib 
uted  to  the  previous  scanty  data  as  to  fauna  and  flora 
of  these  almost  unknown  localities. 

The  investigations  on  the  Alaska  Peninsula  were 
"  important  as  a  meeting  ground  of  some  of  the  life 
areas  of  the  borders  of  the  Hudsonian  and  Arctic 
zones."  Here,  also,  is  the  only  locality  at  which 
normally  meet  the  Aleuts,  the  Esquimaux,  and  the 
Athapascans.  The  delimitation  of  the  coniferous  trees, 
and  of  the  tundra  areas,  was  supplemented  by  careful 
observation  of  the  fauna,  which  disclosed  the  presence 
of  34  land  mammals  and  136  species  of  birds. 

The  Yukon  reconnoissance  resulted  in  an  annotated 
list  of  171  species  of  birds,  and  of  52  mammals,  includ 
ing  a  few  noted  in  adjacent  Canadian  territory.  Among 
these  were  9  new  species  and  subspecies  of  mammals, 
and  3  new  forms  of  birds. 

In  the  Cook  Inlet  region  notes  were  made  as  to  24 
mammals,  77  birds,  and  1  batrachian.  The  future 
thorough  examination  of  this  region  would  doubtless 
add  much,  as  the  English  hunter,  Radclyffe,  says: 

As  a  happy  hunting  ground  for  ornithologists  I  can 
recommend  the  valley  of  the  Aniakchak  River,  since 
nowhere  in  Alaska  did  we  find  such  a  variety  of  sand 
pipers,  waders,  and  ducks  as  frequent  this  region. 

With  innumerable  demands  on  its  funds,  the  Smith 
sonian  Institution  has  given  some  attention  to  Alaska 
through  the  investigation  of  the  fauna  and  flora  of  the 
early  geological  periods,  especially  of  extinct  animals. 


226       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

Among  the  many  attractions  that  the  vast  expanse 
of  the  Yukon  watershed  offers  to  students  and  lovers 
of  nature,  perhaps  there  is  none  more  fascinating 
than  the  search  for  extinct  mammals.  The  world's 
knowledge  of  remains  of  extinct  vertebrates  in  Alaska 
began  with  Otto  van  Kotzebue's  discovery,  in  1816, 
of  the  remarkable  ice-cliffs  in  Escholtz  Bay,  where 
teeth  and  bones  of  the  mammoth  were  found.  Sim 
ilar  discoveries  were  made  in  this  region  by  Beechey 
in  1827-1828,  by  Seeman  with  Kellett  in  1848,  and 
by  Ball  in  recent  years.  The  remains  thus  found  com 
prise  the  mammoth,  the  horse,  bears,  deer,  and  the 
musk-ox.  From  time  to  time  trappers  and  prospectors 
have  found  similar  remains  at  various  points  in  the 
Seward  Peninsula,  thence  north  to  the  Point  Barrow 
region,  and  east  to  the  valleys  of  the  upper  Koyukuk 
and  the  central  Yukon. 

The  scientific  search  for  further  remains  has  been 
prosecuted  under  the  Smithsonian  Institution  by  Mr. 
A.  G.  Maddren  in  1904,  and  by  Mr.  C.  W.  Gilmore  in 
1907.  The  journey  of  Maddren  proved  most  inter 
esting.  It  involved  small-boat  travel  on  the  Great 
River  and  its  tributaries  during  the  long  summer 
period  of  starless  nights,  almost  uninterrupted  sun 
light  and  balmy  airs,  amid  such  aspects  of  nature, 
varieties  of  experience  and  vicissitudes  of  camp  life 
as  are  scarcely  equalled  elsewhere. 

Maddren  made  a  journey  of  nearly  300  miles  through 
an  unknown  country,  across  the  drainage  basins  of  the 
Ungalik,  Inglutalik,  and  Kobuk  Rivers,  starting  from 
Kaltag  on  the  Yukon.  He  was  accompanied  by  an 


FIELDS    OF    RESEARCH        227 

assistant,  with  two  Esquimaux  packers  and  guides, 
though  aided  for  fifty  miles  by  two  additional  packers. 
Of  his  outfit  he  says: 

The  camp  equipment  for  this  trip  was  reduced  to 
the  minimum.  It  consisted  of  a  tent  made  of  balloon 
silk,  weighing  twelve  pounds,  measuring  eight  feet 
square  on  the  floor,  with  a  water-proof  canvas  ground 
cloth.  A  light  robe  made  of  four  large  caribou  skins 
sewed  together  served  as  a  common  mattress  for  all, 
and  a  blanket  apiece  completed  the  bedding.  Three 
kettles,  a  frying-pan,  with  a  tin  cup  and  spoon  apiece, 
were  all  the  utensils  found  necessary.  The  provisions 
carried,  exclusive  of  the  supplies  required  for  the  two 
additional  packers,  consisted  of  150  pounds  of  flour, 
30  pounds  of  rice,  30  pounds  of  beans,  60  pounds  of 
bacon,  25  pounds  of  sugar,  3  pounds  of  tea,  2  pounds 
of  baking-powder,  and  2  pounds  of  salt.  Seventy 
pounds  to  each  man,  or  an  average  of  2£  pounds 
per  man  per  day.  This  supply,  supplemented  by  a 
few  fish  and  a  number  of  ptarmigan  shot  from  day  to 
day,  with  a  22-calibre  rifle,  proved  ample. 

Of  the  fossil  animals  discovered  in  Alaska  the  most 
interesting  is  the  Northern  Mammoth,  or  fossil  ele 
phant,  which  evidently  roamed,  with  the  bison  and 
the  horse,  through  the  entire  watershed  of  the  Yukon 
River,  the  Seward  Peninsula,  Kowak  Valley,  and  the 
Kotzebue  Sound  region.  The  largest  mammoth  tusk 
is  probably  that  found  by  Seeman,  in  1848,  at  Escholtz 
Bay,  which  weighs  243  pounds :  its  base  had  a  circum 
ference  of  twenty-one  inches,  and  though  broken  at 
the  point  its  length  was  eleven  feet  six  inches.  It  is 
possible  that  another  tusk,  which  is  twelve  feet  ten 


228       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

inches  long  may  be  larger,  while  the  Fort  Gibbon  im 
perfect  tusk  of  ten  feet  four  inches,  though  broken  at 
both  ends,  may  equal  the  two  others  in  size.  Several 
species  of  bison  have  been  found,  as  also  remains  of  tho 
horse,  musk-ox,  reindeer,  bear,  and  beaver. 

ICE-CLIFFS 

The  ice-cliffs  of  Alaska  are  worthy  of  special  scien 
tific  investigation,  both  on  account  of  their  remarkable 
formation  and  also  to  explain  fully  the  phenomena, 
which  have  given  rise  to  various  differing  opinions. 

Their  discoverer,  Kotzebue,  describes  the  ice-cliffs  as 
Masses  of  the  purest  ice,  of  the  height  of  a  hundred 
feet,  which  are  under  a  cover  of  moss  and  grass.  .  .  . 
The  covering  of  these  mountains,  on  which  the  most 
luxuriant  grass  grows,  is  only  half  a  foot  thick,  and 
consists  of  a  mixture  of  clay,  sand,  and  earth. 

Beechey  declared  that  Kotzebue  was  mistaken, 
and  reported  that  the  cliffs  were  not  mainly  ice,  but 
were  simply  ice-faced. 

Seeman,  in  1848,  justified  Kotzebue's  views,  saying: 

The  ice-cliffs  .  .  .  are  from  forty  to  ninety  feet 
high,  and  consist  of  three  distinct  layers.  The  lower 
layer  is  ice,  the  central,  clay,  containing  fossils,  and 
the  uppermost,  peat.  The  ice,  as  far  as  it  can  be  seen, 
above  ground,  is  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet  thick,  but 
is  every  year  decreasing. 

Hooper,  in  1880,  thought  that  both  Kotzebue  and 
Beechey  were  partly  in  error.  W.  H.  Dall  visited 
them  the  same  year,  1880,  and  after  careful  examina- 


FIELDS    OF    RESEARCH        229 

tion  reports:  "It  appeared  that  the  ridge  itself,  two 
miles  wide  and  250  feet  high,  was  chiefly  composed  of 
solid  ice  overlaid  with  clay  and  vegetable  mould."  He 
adds:  "It  certainly  remains  one  of  the  most  wonder 
ful  and  puzzling  geological  phenomena  in  existence." 
In  his  explorations  in  1884,  Lieut.  J.  C.  Cantwell 
discovered  similar  cliffs  along  the  Kowak  River, 
which  he  reports  to  be  navigable  for  375  miles.  He 
says: 

Among  the  many  novel  and  interesting  features, 
none  were  more  striking  than  a  remarkable  series  of 
ice-cliffs  observed  along  the  banks  of  the  river  about 
eighty  miles  from  the  mouth.  .  .  .  One  cliff  measured 
by  sextant  angles  showed  185  feet.  The  tops  of  the 
cliffs  were  superposed  by  a  layer  of  black,  siltlike 
soil  from  six  to  eight  feet  thick,  and  from  this  springs 
a  luxuriant  growth  of  mosses,  grass,  and  the  character 
istic  arctic  shrubbery,  consisting  for  the  most  part  of 
willow,  alder,  and  berry  bushes,  and  a  dense  forest  of 
spruce  trees  from  fifty  to  eighty  feet  high  and  from 
four  to  eight  inches  in  diameter. 

FOSSIL  PLANTS 

The  fossil  flora  of  Alaska  also  offers  wide,  interest 
ing,  and  almost  untouched  fields  of  investigation  and 
exploration.  F.  H.  Knowlton,  United  States  National 
Museum,  has  shown  that  of  115  forms  of  fossil  plants 
collected  in  Alaska,  no  less  than  46  are  peculiar  to  that 
region.  Of  the  64  having  an  outside  distribution,  39 
species  are  found  in  Greenland,  Spitzbergen,  and  Sach- 
alin  Island,  thus  indicating  synchronous  deposits  in 
the  four  semi-arctic  regions.  The  family  of  oaks,  chest- 


230       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

nuts,  etc.,  furnish  22  species,  the  conifers  18  species, 
and  the  willows  13  species.  Practically  every  part  o:: 
Alaska  offers  opportunities  for  extension  of  our  knowl 
edge  of  fossil  plants. 

There  are  few  departments  of  science  which  would 
not  profit  by  the  work  of  specialists  in  the  Territory. 
The  language  and  customs  of  the  vanishing  natives, 
the  determination  of  life  zones  of  existing  fauna  and 
flora,  the  solving  of  glacial  progression  or  withdrawal, 
—these  and  many  other  investigations  would  be  mos1; 
interesting,  even  if  without  practical  bearing  on  mate 
rial  matters.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  more  and  moro 
the  inclinations  and  efforts  of  American  scientists  ma}r 
be  turned  to  Alaska,  where  important  results  may  bo 
expected  and  professional  reputation  may  be  gained. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — Knowlton:  Fossil  Flora  of  Alaska.  Smithsonian 
Institution,  No.  998.  Maddren:  Smithsonian  Exploration  in  Alaska, 
1904.  No.  1584.  Gilmore:  Smithsonian  Exploration  in  Alaska, 
1907.  No.  1807.  Osgood,  W.  H.:  (Biological  Publications,  Dept.  of 
Agriculture),  No.  19.  Biological  Reconnaissance  of  Yukon  Region. 
No.  21.  Natural  History  of  Cook  Inlet,  1901.  No.  24.  Bio 
logical  Reconnaissance  of  Base  of  Alaska  Peninsula,  1904. 


CHAPTER  XXV 
THE  ALEUTIAN  ISLANDS  AND  FOX  FARMING 

THERE  is  little  known  of  the  Aleutian  Islands  except 
as  to  the  Fox  Island  group,  adjacent  to  the  Alaska 
Peninsula.  From  first  to  last  their  history  has  been 
one  of  exploitation  since,  in  1745,  Michael  Novidskof, 
in  search  of  the  sea-otter,  reached  Attu  in  his  open 
frail  craft.  Fired  by  a  cupidity  that  no  danger  could 
appall,  other  Russian  traders  pushed  untiringly  east 
ward  in  moss-calked,  skin-sewn  shallops,  until  the  long 
line  of  Aleutian  Islands,  extending  eastward  nearly 
800  miles,  fell  within  their  knowledge  and  under  their 
rapacious  control. 

Some  of  these  islands  were  then  densely  populated, 
aggregating  in  the  early  days  nearly  30,000  natives, 
and  their  inhabitants  throve  on  the  sea-otter  and  other 
sea  game.  With  rapacity  and  exploitation  rampant 
they  decreased  with  the  vanishing  game,  and  scarcely 
numbered  1,500  on  the  islands  in  1900.  Elliott  tells 
us  that  in  1885  in  the  800  intervening  miles  between 
Unalaska  and  the  western  boundary  there  were  only 
three  small  native  settlements — Umnak,  130,  Atka, 
230,  and  Attu,  a  few  over  100  souls — in  all  less  than 
500  natives,  with  six  or  seven  white  men. 

Indeed,  the  islands  are  neither  attractive  in  their 
general  appearance  nor  comfortable  in  occupation 

231 


232       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

for  white  men.  It  is  a  region  of  almost  continual 
fog  and  clouds,  with  low  summer  temperatures  and 
high  winter  winds.  About  one  day  of  seven  or  eight 
is  clear  at  Unalaska,  while  the  island  temperatures 
rarely  exceed  65°  in  the  warmest  month  (usually 
July),  and  fall  to  as  low  as  from  10°  to  22°  in  March. 
The  whole  group  is  treeless,  except  for  a  few  stunted 
willows  in  sheltered  ravines  of  the  easterly  and  warmer 
islands.  At  Unalaska  barely  live  a  few  spruces  trans 
planted  there  in  1805. 

As  the  islands  are  of  volcanic  origin  their  general 
features  are  bold  peaks  and  rugged  highlands,  with 
narrow  dividing  passes  at  sea  and  deep  valleys  on 
land.  Adjacent  to  the  many  extinct  craters  are  nu 
merous  warm  and  hot  springs,  around  which  grow 
great  quantities  of  moss,  grasses,  and  berry-bearing 
shrubs. 

Of  the  five  larger  islands  of  the  Near  group,  Attu 
supplements  its  sea  food  by  breeding  foxes  and  making 
baskets,  industries  which  produce  money  for  the  so- 
called  necessities  of  modern  life.  More  than  400 
miles  to  the  eastward  is  the  next  inhabited  island, 
Atka,  the  most  important  of  the  thirty  or  more  of  the 
Andreanoff  group.  Although  the  intervening  Rat 
group,  between  Attu  and  Atka,  is  not  inhabited,  yet 
its  sea  game  is  diligently  sought  by  Atkan  seafarers. 
Indeed,  the  hunters  from  Atka  are  among  the  most 
skilful  and  persistent  of  the  Aleuts,  and  their  women 
are  scarcely  second  to  those  of  Attu  in  their  baskets 
and  other  work  of  woven  grass.  Following  the  mod 
ern  tendency  to  aggregation,  the  Atkan  natives  have 


THE    ALEUTIAN    ISLANDS     233 

assembled  in  one  village,  on  the  sheltered  shores  of 
Nazan  harbor. 

Of  the  Fox  Islands,  the  easternmost  Aleutian  group, 
Unalaska  is  the  largest  and  by  far  the  most  important. 
Dominated  by  the  volcano  Makushin,  5,961  feet,  it  is 
not  quite  so  barren  as  the  other  Aleutian  islands  to  the 
west,  and  its  fiord-indented  shores  and  volcanic-ridged 
valleys  are  picturesque  to  the  eye.  Its  principal  town, 
Iliuliuk,  is  more  generally  known  as  Unalaska,  and 
with  the  adjacent  Dutch  harbor  has  served  as  a  port 
of  call  for  the  early  Nome  shipping,  and  all  other  craft 
doing  business  in  Bering  Sea. 

In  olden  times  the  headquarters  of  the  Russian 
Church  and  the  centre  of  the  fur-trade,  Unalaska 
yielded  slowly  and  reluctantly  to  American  influences, 
wrhich  are  to-day  fully  recognized.  Gradually  it  at 
tracts  to  it  the  drifting  natives,  as  shown  by  the  in 
crease  of  population  from  317  in  1890  to  428  in  1900. 

FOX  FARMING 

Unwise  exploitation  has  very  greatly  reduced  the  fur- 
bearing  productivity  of  the  land  animals  of  the  Aleu 
tian  Islands,  as  well  as  of  the  interior  of  Alaska.  With 
the  early  extermination  of  foxes  in  prospect  there  was 
organized  about  1894  the  Semidi  Propagation  Com 
pany  to  domesticate  and  raise  foxes  on  uninhabited 
islands.  The  original  fox  farm  was  stocked  from  the 
Pribilof  group  located  on  North  Semidi  Island,  whence 
the  industry  has  extended  to  thirty  or  more  islands 
to  the  eastward,  far  the  greater  number  being  situated 


234       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

in  Prince  William  Sound,  though  there  are  seven  in 
the  Kodiak  group.  Most  of  the  islands  are  occupied 
under  lease  from  the  United  States,  and  the  law  ex- 
cepts  from  homesteading  the  fox  islets.  Two  com 
panies  and  several  individuals  have  followed  this  in 
dustry,  which  has  been  only  moderately  successful 
from  the  financial  standpoint.  Considerable  invest 
ment  is  necessary,  it  takes  at  least  four  years  before 
any  revenue  is  obtained,  the  life  is  most  isolated,  and 
skins  are  not  very  productive,  usually  varying  in  value 
from  $10  to  $20,  according  to  quality  and  demand. 
In  some  instances  natives  have  become  fox  breeders, 
and  where  private  parties  are  so  engaged  they  have 
supplemented  their  fox  breeding  by  fishing,  farming, 
or  lumbering. 

The  largest  fox  farm  is  at  Long  Island,  near  Kodiak, 
where  there  are  nearly  1,000  blue  foxes.  The  largest 
number  of  skins  comes,  however,  from  the  Pribilof 
group,  where  about  700  foxes  are  annually  taken  by 
the  natives,  supplementary  to  the  fur-seal  catch.  These 
foxes  are  not  domesticated. 

The  very  valuable  silver-gray  fox  is  too  thoroughly 
savage  to  accept  conditions  necessary  for  profitable 
fox  breeding,  and,  in  consequence,  fox  farming  is  con 
fined  almost  entirely  to  the  blue  fox.  The  fox  is 
monogamous,  and  an  average  of  four  foxes  come  to 
maturity  from  each  litter.  It  is  necessary  to  feed  the 
foxes  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  and  careful  super 
vision  is  essential  to  their  successful  raising. 

The  blue  fox  thrives  wild  on  the  extreme  easterly 
isle  of  Attu,  and  from  that  point  several  of  the  Shu- 


THE    ALEUTIAN    ISLANDS     235 

magin  islands,  Chernabura,  Simeonof,  etc.,  have  been 
stocked  with  moderate  success.  The  extension  and 
development  of  this  industry  is  desirable  as  one  of 
the  much-needed  means  to  enable  the  Aleuts  success 
fully  to  meet  changed  conditions  of  Alaskan  life. 

LAND  FURS 

Due  doubtless  to  the  extreme  value  placed  on  certain 
aquatic  furs,  there  have  obtained  exaggerated  ideas 
regarding  the  financial  importance  of  the  fur  trade  of 
the  interior  of  the  Territory.  Hitherto  there  has  been 
no  authoritative  statement  regarding  this  trade,  but 
through  the  courtesy  of  the  Northern  Commercial 
Company,  extended  through  its  vice-president  and 
general  manager,  M.  L.  Washburn,  the  writer  has  ob 
tained  data  extending  from  1871  to  1908. 

In  these  thirty-eight  years  there  have  been  obtained 
2,809,577  skins  having  an  aggregate  value  of  $8,039,186 ; 
an  average  of  $2.86  per  skin.  The  general  trend  of  the 
trade  appears  from  the  following: 


Years 

No.  of  skins 

Value  per  skin 

Total  value 

1871-1880  

505  980 

$3  16 

$1,596,494 

1881-1890  .    .  . 

1  062  138 

2  74 

2  911  893 

1891-1900  

866  464 

2  70 

2,335  866 

1901-1908 

369  995 

4  72 

1  744  715 

Totals 

2  809  577 

$2  86 

$8  039  186 

The  five  years  of  greatest  productivity  in  number 
of  skins  were:  1894,  138,684;  1884,  149,804;  1892, 
157,636;  1885,  157,749.  There  has  been  only  one  year 


236       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

since  1896—1901  with  114,995  skins— that  the  number 
has  exceeded  60,000.  The  present  average  may  be 
placed  at  about  36,000  skins,  though  the  hunt  of  1908 
marketed  45,  202  skins.  The  values  per  skin  have 
varied  from  $1.61  in  1883  to  $7.71  in  1902;  since  1897 
the  value  has  fallen  below  $3  in  one  year  only.  The 
increase  in  values  is  a  natural  sequence  to  the  over- 
trapping,  which  in  the  ten  years  ending  with  1893  pro 
duced  not  less  than  1,255,616  skins. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. — Elliott:  Our  Arctic  Province.  Washburn:  Fox 
Farming  in  Alaska  (Harriman  Alaska  Expedition,  2,360).  Witten: 
Fox  farming.  In  Report  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  1903,  p.  282. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
THE  CANADIAN  KLONDIKE 

THIS  famous  gold-producing  district  owes  its  devel 
opment  to  the  discovery  of  rich  placers  on  Bonanza 
Creek  in  August,  1896,  by  G.  W.  Cormack,  and  by 
Henderson  on  Gold  Bottom  Creek. 

The  extreme  richness  of  the  ground  attracted  im 
mediately  thousands  upon  thousands  of  gold  seekers, 
whose  tragic  toils,  sufferings,  and  endurance  made  his 
toric  the  mountain  passes  of  Chilkoot,  Chilkat,  and 
White,  as  well  as  the  lakes  and  rapids  of  the  upper 
Lewes  and  Yukon,  through  wThich  they  descended  by 
rudely  built  boats  to  Dawson,  at  the  confluence  of 
the  Klondike  and  the  Yukon. 

The  construction  of  the  White  Pass  Railway,  1898 
to  1900,  from  Skagway  to  the  foot  of  the  dangerous 
White  Horse  Rapids,  and  the  establishment  of  a  con 
necting  line  of  steamers  thence  down  the  Yukon,  make 
the  journey  of  to-day  one  of  delightful  pleasure,  sur 
rounded  by  modern  comforts,  through  regions  of  pictu 
resque  beauty,  and  past  many  incipient  settlements 
where  hunting,  fishing,  and  agriculture  are  the  princi 
pal  means  of  subsistence.  Trains  run  between  Skag 
way  and  White  Horse,  over  the  White  Pass  Railway, 
every  week-day  throughout  the  year,  and  well- furnished 
boats  leave  White  Horse  for  Dawson  about  three  times 

237 


238       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

a  week,  from  May  to  September.  The  traveller  usually 
passes  a  night  at  White  Horse,  a  thriving  frontier 
town. 

The  journey  is  made  from  Seattle  to  Dawson  in 
about  eight  days  in  summer  and  twelve  days  in  winter. 
The  downward  voyage  from  White  Horse  is  made  in 
less  than  two  days,  and  the  upward  trip  from  Dawson 
in  less  than  four  days.  Winter  travel  between  White 
Horse  and  Dawson  is  by  four-horse  sleighs  over  a  well- 
built  trail  of  330  miles,  and  is  made  in  six  days,  travel 
being  by  day  only. 

Dawson  is  the  capital  of  Yukon  Territory,  and  is  the 
social,  financial,  and  trade  centre  of  the  Klondike  and 
other  adjacent  mines.  It  passed  long  since  from  the 
status  of  a  mining  camp  to  that  of  a  modern  city.  It 
has  churches,  schools,  libraries,  hospitals,  banks,  clubs, 
assay  offices,  telephones,  electric  lights,  power  plants, 
newspapers,  and  water-works.  The  commissioner,  gov 
ernor  by  courtesy,  here  supervises  the  executive  func 
tions  of  government,  the  judiciary  administers  justice, 
and  the  well-known  Northwest  Mounted  Police  effi 
ciently  preserve  the  public  peace,  enforce  the  laws,  and 
arrest  the  criminals,  of  whom,  contrary  to  oft-expressed 
opinions,  there  are  few  and  those  of  the  minor  order. 

The  Klondike  mining  district  includes  the  basins  of 
the  Klondike,  Indian,  and  McQuestion  Rivers,  an  area 
of  about  800  square  miles.  The  mines  in  the  Bonanza 
precinct,  distant  from  twelve  to  fifteen  miles  from 
Dawson,  are  reached  by  stage  or  by  the  Klondike 
Mines  Railway. 

The  very  rich  placers  are  practically  exhausted,  and 


THE    CANADIAN    KLONDIKE  239 

the  low-grade  gravels  have  very  largely  passed  under 
the  control  of  large  corporations,  which  are  adopting 
the  most  efficient  and  economical  systems  of  exploi 
tation.  Extensive  ditches  have  been  constructed, 
the  best  modern  machinery  imported,  and  systematic, 
carefully  planned  methods  of  placer  mining  are  now 
in  operation.  The  practical  wisdom  of  such  policy 
is  evidenced  by  the  increase  in  the  output  for  1908, 
which  materially  exceeded  that  of  1907.  Dawson  has 
decreased  in  population  in  late  years,  and  but  for  sys 
tematic  mining  with  machinery  its  decadence  would 
have  been  much  greater  and  speedily  culminated  in 
a  deserted  district.  It  now  looks  forward  to  an  era 
of  moderate  prosperity. 

The  days  of  extraordinary  bonanzas,  whereby  the 
laborer  of  yesterday  became  a  wealthy  man  of  to-day, 
have  passed,  and  the  Klondike  is  no  longer  a  poor  man's 
country. 

Of  Klondike  mining,  Brooks  said  several  years  since : 

It  was  the  exploitation  of  these  almost  fabulously 
rich  and  relatively  shallow  gravels  that  brought  the 
Klondike  gold  output  up  with  a  bound,  and  it  is  their 
quick  exhaustion  that  has  caused  an  almost  equally 
rapid  decline  of  the  annual  yield.  There  are  still 
extensive  bodies  of  lower-grade  gravels  to  mine  in 
the  Klondike,  but  these  can  be  developed  only  by 
means  of  extensive  water  conduits  or  by  dredging. 
Mining  in  the  Klondike  has  passed  its  zenith,  whereas 
in  Seward  Peninsula  the  maximum  yearly  output  is 
still  to  be  reached. 

The  Canadian  Government  has  endeavored  to  re 
store  the  early  prosperity  of  the  Klondike  by  aiding 


240       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

in  the  construction  of  long  and  expensive  ditches,  and 
by  fostering  the  extension  of  local  and  through  railway 
lines.  Unsuccessful  efforts  were  made  to  launch  a  proj 
ect  for  the  building  of  about  1,800  miles  of  railway 
from  Langham,  Sasketchewan,  via  the  Athabascan  and 
Peace  River  valleys.  The  only  hope  of  such  a  railway 
being  financially  successful  rests  on  the  wheat  and 
cattle  of  the  intervening  country  between  Langham 
and  Dawson. 

The  history  of  mining  in  the  Klondike  shows  that 
there  were  scarcely  five  years  of  extreme  prosperity. 
The  following  yields  are  given  by  Mr.  E.  H.  Brooks: 
1896,  $300,000;  1897,  $2,500,000;  1898,  $10,000,000; 
1899,  $16,000,000;  1900,  $22,275,000;  1901,  $18,000,- 
000;  1902,  $14,500,000;  1903,  $12,250,000;  1904, 
$10,000,000;  1905,  $7,300,000;  1906,  $5,600,000; 
1907,  $5,000,000,  and  1908,  about  $5,100,000. 

Astonishing  as  was  the  productivity  of  the  Klondike 
mines  in  their  palmiest  days,  they  ranked  second  in 
richness  to  the  placers  of  California,  which  in  two  years 
(1851  to  1853)  yielded  $62,000,000  as  against  $40,275,- 
000  for  the  best  two  years  of  the  Klondike  output. 

There  is  yet  a  very  large  amount  of  business  done 
with  Dawson,  not  only  for  Canadian  territory  but  also 
for  the  Alaskan  trade.  All  steamboat  travel  or  freight 
in  the  early  spring  or  late  autumn  for  the  Tanana 
Valley  or  the  upper  Alaskan  Yukon  is  necessarily 
via  Dawson  and  the  White  Pass  Railway.  Although 
all  baggage  is  examined  in  passing  to  and  from  Alaska, 
yet  such  examinations  are  almost  invariably  free  from 
disagreeable  features.  In  the  fields  of  transportation 


THE    CANADIAN    KLONDIKE  241 

there  have  been  several  energetic  and  efficient  Ameri 
can  competitors,  both  for  Dawson  trade  and  also  as 
the  controlling  force  in  Alaskan  business.  In  fact,  it 
was  an  American  firm  that  first  met  the  crying  needs 
of  the  Klondike  miners,  and  saved  them  from  direst 
distress.  This  was  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company, 
which  did  not  long  hold  the  field  undisputed,  as  it  was 
speedily  followed  by  several  other  American  com 
panies  of  high  standing.  The  Alaska  Company  con 
solidated  with  several  others  a  few  years  since,  and  the 
firm  is  now  known  as  the  Northern  Commercial  Com 
pany.  This  company,  and  the  North  American  Trans 
portation  and  Trading  Company,  practically  handle  all 
freight  and  passengers  for  the  Alaskan  Yukon,  the 
Koyukuk  and  Tanana  regions;  in  short,  all  below  the 
International  Boundary  near  Eagle,  about  100  miles 
below  Dawson. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 
TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION 

PKOBABLY  there  is  no  practical  phase  of  Alaska  that  is 
so  little  known  as  that  of  transportation  in  and  out  of 
the  Territory,  whether  it  be  of  mail  or  telegram,  of. 
passenger  or  freight.  As  illustrative  of  the  ignorance 
regarding  these  matters  may  be  mentioned  an  ex 
perience  of  the  writer  as  he  was  about  to  visit  Seward 
Peninsula.  An  official  of  high  rank,  looking  over  a 
map  of  Alaska,  broached  the  point  of  what  would  be 
seen  in  passing  through  Valdez  en  route  to  Nome.  He 
was  astonished  to  be  told  that  at  Valdez  one  was  a 
thousand  miles  farther  from  Nome  than  when  he  left 
Seattle. 

STEAMSHIP  LINES 

The  principal  ocean  steamships  in  the  Alaskan  trade 
are  those  of  the  long  established  Pacific  Coast  Company, 
of  the  vigorous  Alaskan  Steamship  Company,  and  a 
foreign  line,  the  Canadian  Pacific  Navigation  Company. 
Service  is  frequent,  reasonably  rapid,  and  disasters  are 
rare. 

The  Pacific  Coast  Company  plies  fortnightly  during 
winter,  and  weekly  during  summer,  between  Seattle 
and  Skagway.  It  also  runs  during  June,  July,  and 
August  an  excursion  steamer  to  the  glaciers  and  other 

242 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION  243 

points,  taking  only  first-class  round-trip  passengers  for 
the  eleven-day  voyage.  It  operates  tri-monthly  steam 
ships  to  Nome  in  summer — June  to  September. 

The  Alaskan  Company  has  a  weekly  service  between 
Seattle  and  Skagway  in  summer,  and  a  twelve-day 
service  in  winter.  It  sends  in  summer  a  boat  to  Nome 
about  every  ten  days.  Its  fleet  of  twelve  steamships  is 
most  busily  engaged  in  its  weekly  service  to  Prince 
William  Sound — the  voyage  to  Cordova  taking  five 
days,  to  Valdez  six  days,  and  to  Seward  a  week. 

The  Canadian  service  to  Skagway  usually  starts 
from  Vancouver,  and  there  are  about  three  boats  per 
month  in  summer. 

ROUTES  OF  TRAVEL 

There  is  but  one  starting  point  for  Alaska — Seattle; 
and  there  are  three  direct  and  sharply  differing  routes 
to  various  regions — to  southeastern  Alaska,  to  south 
western  Alaska,  and  to  Seward  Peninsula. 

To  southeastern  Alaska  are  the  steamship  lines  that 
run,  through  the  Inside  Passage,  to  Skagway,  touch 
ing  at  Ketchikan,  Wrangell,  and  Juneau  regularly, 
and  occasionally  at  other  ports.  The  through  voyage 
lasts  from  four  to  five  days  in  all  seasons,  and  the 
first-class  fare  is  830.1 

Southwestern  Alaska  (from  Cordova  westward  to 
Seward)  is  reached  by  direct  steamers  in  five  to  eight 
days,  and  the  first-class  fare  is  $45.  The  ports  thus 
reached  are  Cordova,  Valdez,  and  Seward,  with  calls 

1  Fares  given  are,  of  course,  liable  to  change. 


244       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

at  adjacent  ports  occasionally.  This  region  is  also 
reached  from  Seattle  via  Juneau  and  the  Inside  Passage; 
by  three  or  four  boats  each  month,  in  ten  to  twelve 
days;  some  steamers  run  through,  and  in  other  cases 
a  change  at  Juneau  is  necessary.  The  boats  from 
Juneau  touch  at  Sitka,  Yakutat  Bay,  Cordova,  Orca, 
Valdez,  Seward,  and  occasionally  at  other  points,  as 
far  west  as  Seldovia.  At  Valdez  there  is  a  connecting 
steamer  about  the  middle  of  each  month,  that  runs 
to  the  Cook  Inlet  ports,  and  to  Kodiak,  ending  its 
voyage  at  Unalaska  (Dutch  Harbor).  In  summer  it 
runs  beyond  Unalaska  to  Bristol  Bay. 

Seward  Peninsula  and  adjacent  regions  are  reached 
direct  only  during  the  open  season  of  four  months, 
from  early  June  to  early  October.  In  the  open  season 
this  ocean  voyage  of  2,740  miles  is  made  in  eight  to 
ten  days,  the  first-class  fare  being  from  $75  to  $100, 
according  to  accommodations;  second-class,  $65; 
steerage,  $35.  Steamers  leave  Seattle  from  about 
June  5  to  October  5;  and  they  return  from  Nome  from 
about  June  20  to  October  15.  In  1908  there  were 
seventy-four  steamers  which  arrived  and  cleared  at 
Nome  during  the  season. 

Winter  travel  in  and  out  of  Seward  Peninsula  lasts 
from  early  November  to  the  beginning  of  April.  It 
commences  only  with  frozen  streams  and  ends  with 
the  break-up  of  the  rivers  in  the  Tanana  and  other 
southerly  valleys.  The  route  is  via  Valdez,  which  is 
an  open  winter  port  in  frequent  and  regular  com 
munication  with  Seattle;  first-class  fare,  $45.  Travel 
between  Valdez  and  Fairbanks,  354  miles,  is  by  com- 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION  245 

fortable  tri-weekly  stages,  the  journey  occupying  from 
seven  to  ten  days;  fare  $150.  Between  Fairbanks 
and  Fort  Gibbon  (Tanana),  about  160  miles,  public 
conveyance  by  stage,  horse,  or  dog  team  can  often  be 
had,  but  occasionally  recourse  must  be  had  to  private 
dog  team.  Between  Fort  Gibbon  and  Nome,  about 
598  miles,  one  must  nearly  always  depend  on  private 
dog  team,  and  look  to  a  journey  of  twenty  to  thirty  days 
at  an  expense  of  $200,  or  more.  The  cost  of  such  a 
journey,  between  Seattle  and  Nome,  will  run  from 
$500  to  $750,  according  to  one's  knowledge  of  the  coun 
try,  trail-endurance,  and  accommodations  required. 
There  are  comfortable  road  houses  along  the  entire 
route  from  Valdez  to  Nome,  and  the  journey  entails  no 
great  hardships,  apart  from  exposure  to  great  cold  and 
exhaustion  by  fatigue  in  following  the  dog  team  from 
Nome  to  Fort  Gibbon. 

In  summer  the  Yukon,  Koyukuk,  and  Tanana  Val 
leys  are  reached  by  complex  routes.  Travel,  by  the 
all-American  route,  is  via  ocean  steamer  to  Nome  and 
St.  Michael,  and  thence  by  river  boats.  These  river 
boats  leave  St.  Michael  about  twice  a  week  from 
June  20  to  about  September  20,  and  arrive  at  St. 
Michael  on  their  return  from  about  June  10  to  the 
end  of  September.  There  are  only  two  or  three 
boats  each  summer  up  the  Koyukuk,  but  the  entire 
Yukon  Valley,  and  the  Tanana  Valley  as  far  as  Fair 
banks,  can  be  speedily  reached  throughout  the  entire 
open  season  by  boats  running  weekly  or  oftener. 

Fort  Gibbon  (Tanana)  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tanana, 
is  the  transportation  centre  of  interior  Alaska.  Here 


246       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

the  Fairbanks  traffic  connects  with  that  of  the  Yukon 
Valley,  and  much  freight  with  many  passengers  transfer 
to  and  from  connecting  steamboats  from  Dawson  or 
St.  Michael.  In  1905  not  less  than  224  steamers 
touched  at  Fort  Gibbon  during  the  open  season  of  five 
months.  In  1906  the  number  of  steamboats  was  216, 
and  in  1907  about  200 — the  tendency  being  to  reduce 
steamers  and  increase  the  number  and  capacity  of  the 
freight-bearing  barges  that  they  carry  in  tow. 

The  Canadian  route  is  followed  for  travel  in  or  out 
of  the  interior  valleys  very  early  in  the  spring  (May), 
or  in  the  early  autumn  (middle  of  September  to  Oc 
tober).  One  must  journey  by  steamboat  to  or  from 
Seattle,  via  the  Inside  Passage  to  Skagway,  thence  by 
rail  to  White  Horse,  and  down  the  Yukon  by  steamer 
to  Dawson,  where  one  catches  the  Dawson-Fairbanks 
line  of  American  steamboats,  which  touch  at  Eagle, 
Circle,  Rampart,  and  Fort  Gibbon  (Tanana).  While 
there  is  an  average  of  four  boats  a  week  from  White 
Horse,  the  service  from  Dawson  to  the  Tanana  is  less 
frequent,  about  twice  a  week. 

TRADE 

The  development  of  the  resources  of  Alaska  has  not 
been  unmarked  by  corresponding  benefits  to  the  United 
States  in  general,  and  to  the  Pacific  Coast  in  particular. 
Economic  writers  have  frequently  and  potently  set 
forth  the  great  importance  of  the  trade  of  the  Orient 
as  an  indispensable  factor  in  the  future  prosperity  of 
this  nation,  and  none  will  gainsay  the  soundness  of 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION  247 

their  reasonings.  Meanwhile  there  has  sprung  into 
existence  an  Alaskan  trade  which  is  simply  enormous 
in  its  extent — time  and  circumstance  considered. 

Statistics  are  wanting  as  to  this  trade  prior  to  1903, 
when  official  reports  began.  In  that  year  the  export a- 
tions  from  the  United  States  to  Alaska  aggregated 
$9,987,164,  which  was  considered  by  many  as  an  ex 
traordinary  and  inflated  business,  inviting  disaster. 
In  four  years,  however,  the  trade  has  more  than  doubled, 
the  total  importations  reaching  the  value  of  $19,536,- 
965  in  1907. 

Doubtless  there  are  many  who  will  learn  with  sur 
prise  that,  as  shown  by  the  Statistical  Abstract  of  the 
United  States,  1908,  the  exportations  from  the  United 
States  to  Alaska  in  1907  aggregated  $18,402,765,  which 
is  nearly  one-half  of  our  exportations  to  the  Empire  of 
Japan  that  year,  and  more  than  seventy  per  cent,  of 
those  to  the  Chinese  Empire. 

When  considered  with  relation  to  the  trade  of  our 
insular  possessions  in  the  Pacific,  the  comparisons  are 
distinctly  favorable  in  trade  importance  to  Alaska, 
whose  total  importations  in  1907  exceeded  those  of 
Hawaii  by  $1,000,000,  and  were  over  eighty-two  per 
cent,  of  the  total  imports  of  the  Philippine  Islands. 
Realizing  that  the  greatest  financial  benefits  inure 
to  the  country  that  both  produces  and  ships,  the 
Alaskan  trade,  from  this  standpoint,  is  by  compar 
ison  startlingly  beneficial  to  this  country,  as  the  ex 
portations  from  the  United  States  to  Alaska  nearly 
equalled  the  combined  domestic  exportations  to  both 
Hawaii  and  the  Philippine  Islands.  The  exportations 


248       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

from  the  United  States  in  1907  (Statistical  Abstract 
for  1907)  to  the  three  countries  were  as  follows: 
Philippine  Islands,  $5,155359;  Hawaii,  $14,435,725, 
and  to  Alaska,  $18,402,765.  Relative  to  total  im 
portations,  foreign  and  domestic,  the  percentages 
were :  Philippines,  seventeen  per  cent,  from  the  United 
States;  Hawaii,  seventy-eight  per  cent.;  and  Alaska, 
ninety-four  per  cent. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  Alaskan  trade  demands 
neither  special  methods  of  manufacture  nor  of  pack 
ing,  and  that  it  deals  only  in  the  best  of  merchandise, 
as  the  question  of  freight  charges  enters  so  largely  in 
the  cost  to  the  consumer.  All  shipments  are  carried 
in  vessels  of  American  register,  an  additional  ad 
vantage  to  our  national  interests. 

"The  Monthly  Summary  of  Commerce,"  for  De 
cember,  1908,  shows  the  character  of  shipments  into 
Alaska  during  1908  to  be  as  follows:  Foodstuffs  in 
crude  condition  and  food  animals,  $1,455,381;  food 
stuffs,  partly  or  wholly  manufactured,  $4,326,947; 
crude  materials,  for  use  in  manufacturing,  $358,991; 
manufactures  for  further  use  in  manufacturing,  $1,- 
892,867;  manufactures  ready  for  consumption,  $7,141,- 
908.  The  three  leading  classes  were,  in  round  numbers, 
iron  and  steel  manufactures,  $3,400,000;  meat  and 
dairy  products,  $2,000,000;  breadstuffs  and  vege 
tables,  $1,152,000.  As  elsewhere  stated  the  trade  in 
vegetables  has  been  seriously  affected  by  the  agri 
cultural  development  of  the  Territory.  The  decrease 
from  1906  to  1908  of  about  sixteen  per  cent,  in  the 
shipment  of  distilled  spirits  incidentally  illustrates 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION  249 

the  settled  and  permanent  conditions  of  modern 
Alaska,  which  is  very  far  from  being  a  land  of  wild 
dissipation  and  irregular  life. 

Nome  has  the  largest  direct  shipments  (by  ocean), 
which  have  been  as  foUows:  1903,  $1,726,242;  1904, 
$1,988,520;  1905,  $2,922,082;  1906,  $3,740,188;  1907, 
$2,428,440.  The  trade  of  Fairbanks  has  rapidly  in 
creased,  the  records  showing:  1903,  $81,968;  1904, 
$441,705;  1905,  $1,789,312;  and  in  1907,  the  year  of 
the  strike,  $2,152,412.  It  may  be  added  that  much 
now  goes  into  Fairbanks  via  Valdez. 

TRADING  COMPANIES 

Although  the  Alaskan  trade  is  no  longer  a  monopoly, 
yet  it  is  practically  controlled  in  the  interior  by  several 
large  corporations.  The  oldest  and  best  known  of  these 
is  the  Northern  Commercial  Company,  which,  founded 
in  1868,  was  the  pioneer  of  Yukon  trade  and  navigation. 
For  twenty  years,  as  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company, 
it  was  the  lessee  of  the  Pribilof  seal  islands,  but  it 
now  practically  confines  its  operations  to  the  trade  of 
the  Yukon  watershed.  Its  local  headquarters  at  St. 
Michael  command  the  admiration  of  every  Alaskan. 
At  that  point  are  operated  a  shipyard,  hotel,  general 
store,  warehousing,  machine  and  repair  shops,  a  laun 
dry,  and,  of  all  things,  a  cold-storage  plant — for  the  im 
ported  fresh  meat.  There  are  complete  facilities  for  the 
handling  and  transfer  of  the  thousands  of  tons  of  freight 
that  are  necessarily  transshipped  here  to  the  river 
steamboats  navigating  the  interior  waters.  The  Com- 


250       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

party's  Yukon  fleet  consists  of  32  stern-wheel,  light- 
draft,  mostly  oil-burning  steamboats;  and  35  freight- 
carrying  barges,  which  are  towed  by  the  steamboats. 
In  addition  to  the  great  plants  and  warehouses  at  St. 
Michael,  Tanana,  Dawson,  and  Fairbanks,  they  operate 
large  trading  stores  at  Bettles  on  the  Koyukuk,  at 
Delta  on  the  Tanana,  and  at  Eagle,  Circle,  Rampart, 
Kokrines,  Nulato,  and  Andreaf  ski  on  the  Yukon,  having 
at  the  last-named  place  winter  quarters  for  some  of 
their  boats  and  reserve  depots  of  stores. 

Second  in  the  field  was  the  North  American  Trading 
and  Transportation  Company,  whose  activities  are 
mainly  displayed  in  the  Klondike  trade  at  Dawson,  the 
Tanana  trade  at  Fairbanks,  and  on  the  upper  Yukon 
from  Eagle  to  Tanana  (Fort  Gibbon).  The  amount  and 
variety  of  the  stocks  carried  by  these  companies  are 
matters  of  surprise  to  Alaskan  tourists,  whose  needs  and 
comforts  are  thoroughly  and  reasonably  subserved  by 
them  throughout  interior  Alaska. 

PRICES  IN  THE  INTERIOR 

The  following  retail  prices  drawn  from  a  Fairbanks 
paper  indicate  the  cost  of  living,  which  is  estimated  to 
be  $2.50  per  day  in  Fairbanks,  where  laborers  receive 
about  $7,  miners  $7.50,  and  mechanics  $15  per  day. 
Prices  in  cents  per  pound  or  can:  10  cents  for  salt,  15 
for  beans,  sugar,  and  soap ;  20  for  lard,  fresh  potatoes, 
and  fresh  onions;  25  for  bacon,  most  evaporated  fruits, 
pilot  bread,  ham,  and  pork;  25  for  salmon,  jams, 
and  jellies  per  can;  50  for  keg  butter,  canned  meats, 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION  251 

canned  vegetables,  and  canned  fruits;  75  for  coffee, 
tea,  cocoa,  and  per  dozen  eggs;  $1  for  honey  and 
canned  butter,  and  (gallon)  coal  oil.  Fresh  beef, 
mutton,  veal,  and  pork  run  from  30  to  60  cents  per 
pound,  but  fresh  chicken  and  the  best  fresh  veal  and 
pork  are  75  cents  per  pound.  At  remote  mining 
camps  prices  run  from  100  to  300  per  cent,  above  those 
at  Fairbanks,  according  to  the  remoteness  and  size  of 
camp. 

MILITARY  TELEGRAPH  SERVICE 

This  service  reaches  nearly  all  places  of  size  in  the 
Territory,  and  speedily  serves  almost  every  important 
permanent  industry  as  well  as  the  promising  mining 
camps.  The  only  extended  areas  that  are  without  a 
telegraph  are  Cook  Inlet,  Alaska  Peninsula,  the  Kus- 
kokwim  watershed,  the  Yukon  Delta,  the  Point  Barrow 
region,  and  the  Koyukuk  Valley.  These  areas  are 
comparatively  unimportant,  as  seventy-five  per  cent, 
of  the  white  population  of  Alaska  are  within  an  hour 
of  a  cable,  a  telephone,  or  telegraph  office,  so  that  at 
will  they  can  speedily  communicate  with  their  friends  of 
the  outside  world.  Less  than  ten  per  cent,  of  the 
settled  whites  are  fifty  miles  distant"  from  such  service. 

The  cables  from  Seattle  reach,  through  Sitka  and 
Valdez,  every  important  Alaskan  port  from  Ketchikan 
to  Seward,  on  Kenai  Peninsula.  The  connecting  land 
lines  from  Valdez  extend  northeast  to  Eagle,  there  con 
necting  with  the  Dawson  system,  and  northwest  to 
Fairbanks,  Tanana,  and  St.  Michael,  wrhile  wireless 
sections  reach  Nome,  Circle,  and  Eagle.  Supplement- 


252       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

ary  private  systems  of  telephone  reach  all  the  large 
mining  camps  near  Nome  and  in  the  Fairbanks  region, 
while  there  are  connecting  railroad  systems  at  Seward, 
of  the  Alaska  Central,  and  at  Cordova,  of  the  Copper 
River  Railway. 

General  G.  M.  Randall  suggested  the  land  lines  for 
military  purposes,  and  to  Secretary  Root  is  due  the 
credit  of  the  first  cable  system — to  Skagway.  The 
line  of  the  army  built  the  land  lines  under  the  super 
vision  of  technical  experts  of  the  Signal  Corps. 

While  the  entire  responsibility  for  route,  construc 
tion,  equipment,  installation,  and  operation  rested  by 
law  on  the  writer,  then  Chief  Signal  Officer  of  the  army, 
the  enterprise  would  have  dragged  for  years  but  for  the 
far-seeing  and  helpful  policy  of  Mr.  Root,  one  of  the 
great  American  War  Secretaries. 

Special  difficulties — practical  and  theoretical — de 
manded  unusual  energy  and  high  professional  skill  from 
the  field  workers.  In  solving  these  problems,  on  which 
the  completion  and  operation  of  the  system  depended, 
high  credit  is  due  to  Colonel  (now  General)  James 
Allen,  and  to  Major  Edgar  Russel,  for  the  construction, 
equipment,  and  installation  in  a  practically  uncharted 
ocean  of  the  longest  American  cables  ever  laid — aggre 
gating  over  3,000  miles,  more  than  enough  to  cross  the 
North  Atlantic.  Similar  credit  is  due  Captains  G.  C. 
Burnell,  G.  S.  Gibbs,  and  William  Mitchell,  for  line  loca 
tion  and  construction  under  Arctic  conditions  through 
hitherto  unknown  areas  of  Alaska.  Finally  Captain  L. 
Wildman  equipped,  installed,  and  operated  a  wireless 
system — largely  of  his  own  invention — between  St. 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION  253 

Michael  and  Nome,  the  first  commercial,  long-distance, 
and  regularly  operating  wireless  system  in  the  world — 
now  in  its  sixth  year  of  continuous  and  uninterrupted 
service. 

The  Congressional  appropriations  for  these  lines  ag 
gregated  $1,352,132,  and  about  $1,000,000  additional 
was  involved  in  the  army  transportation  used,  and  in 
the  pay,  clothing,  and  subsistence  of  the  soldiers  en 
gaged  in  the  construction,  operation,  and  maintenance 
of  the  lines.  Despite  difficulties  inherent  on  work  in 
a  practically  unknown  environment,  the  system  was 
built,  without  either  deficiency  or  additional  appropria 
tion,  from  the  sums  originally  estimated. 

Failure  was  freely  forecast,  the  scheme  being  im 
practicable,  and  if  built  its  expenses  would  swamp  the 
Treasury:  fortunately  neither  prediction  was  verified. 
Its  value  to  the  Government  has  been  enormous,  which 
before  saw  local  officials  in  Alaska  absolutely  without 
restraint.  A  telegraph  to  Nome  in  1900  would  have 
saved  the  American  nation  a  sorrowful  chapter  in  its 
practically  stainless  record  as  to  the  Federal  judiciary. 

Commercial  business  was  equally  difficult  to  control, 
extravagant  in  its  expenses,  often  inadequate,  dilatory, 
and  inefficient.  The  lines  were  thrown  open  to  com 
mercial  business,  to  the  advantage  of  the  nation,  of  the 
Territory,  and  of  the  individual.  The  business  done, 
astonishing  even  to  optimists  in  its  amount,  best  indi 
cates  the  value  of  the  system. 

The  writer  was  derided  for  estimating  a  possible 
revenue  of  $100,000  annually,  and  the  receipts  for  1903, 
$1,934.32  were  viewed  as  large.  The  last  fiscal  year, 


254       HANDBOOK    OF    ALASKA 

however,  they  amounted  to  $205,210,  and  to  June  30, 
1908,  have  aggregated  $901,316. 

It  is  not  infrequently  said  that  corruption  is  rife 
in  the  public  service,  especially  in  Alaska.  Let  it  be 
noted  that  these  telegraph  tolls,  of  nearly  a  million  of 
dollars,  have  in  their  entirety  passed  through  the  hands 
of  American  soldiers — enlisted  men — and  the  total  loss 
by  embezzlement  is  but  $361.69.  This  insignificant 
loss  was  through  a  sergeant — who  deposited  $75  the 
day  he  deserted — who  was  receiving  $1.50  per  day  for 
doing  the  telegraphing  and  accounting  for  about  $18,000 
a  year  of  tolls  received;  this  in  a  town  where  skilled 
workmen  were  paid  $15  per  day,  and  laborers  $8  to  $9 
per  day. 

MAIL  FACILITIES 

Though  neglected  for  many  years  as  to  its  postal 
needs,  and  largely  dependent  on  the  Canadian  facilities 
via  Dawson,  Alaska  is  now  most  liberally  provided  with 
mail  service.  The  mails  for  the  interior  and  northwest 
ern  Alaska  are  necessarily  irregular  of  delivery  during 
the  months  of  April,  May,  and  October,  when  travel  is 
most  difficult  pending  the  formation  of  the  autumn  ice 
and  of  the  spring  break-up. 

Southeastern  Alaska  and  the  coast  from  Yakutat  to 
Seldovia  are  well  cared  for  during  the  entire  year. 
Alaska  Peninsula  and  Unalaska  receive  a  monthly  mail 
by  coast  steamers  running  west  from  Valdez,  or  Seward, 
starting  about  the  middle  of  each  month;  this  service 
is  extended  during  the  salmon  season  to  the  Bering 
sea-coast  at  Nushagak.  In  winter  the  Kuskokwim 


TRADE  AND  TRANSPORTATION  255 

regions  are  supplied  by  the  monthly  mail  carried  over 
land  from  Cold  Bay,  Shelikof  Straits,  from  November  to 
April.  A  similar  winter  service  runs  from  Kenai  north 
to  Hober. 

rThe  summer  mails  for  Seward  Peninsula,  the  Yukon, 
Koyukuk,  and  Tanana  Valleys  go  direct  to  Nome  by 
steamer  during  the  four  months  of  open  season — June 
to  early  October — and  those  for  the  interior  are  for 
warded  from  St.  Michael  by  steamboat.  For  the  rest 
of  the  year  these  valleys  are  served  by  the  great  tri 
weekly  mail  from  Valdez  to  Fairbanks,  thence  weekly  to 
Tanana  (Fort  Gibbon)  and  Nome.  From  this  through 
route  radiates  winter  service  for  all  exterior  points  of 
importance.  The  upper  Koyukuk  Valley  has  a  monthly 
winter  service  to  and  from  Tanana  from  October  to 
May.  There  is  a  similar  monthly  service  for  the  Yukon 
Delta  and  Kuskokwim  country,  from  Koserefski. 

The  Arctic  Ocean  region  as  far  as  Point  Barrow  has 
two  mails  during  the  winter,  to  and  from  Kotzebue; 
and  the  Kobuk  Valley  a  monthly  mail  from  November 
to  May. 


TABLES 


TABLE  NO.  1.— DATES  OF  HISTORICAL  INTEREST 

1648.     Deshneff,  rounding  Asia,  navigates  Bering  Strait. 

1731.     Gwosdeff  discovers  the  Alaskan  coast. 

1741.     Bering  discovers  St.  Elias  region. 

1761-1762.     Pushkaref  winters  on  Alaskan  Peninsula. 

1778.     Cook  traces  north  coasts  to  Icy  Cape. 

1783.     First  permanent  settlement — on  Kodiak  Island. 

1792.     Baranoff,  Director  of  the  Colonies. 

1799.  Russian- American  Trading  Company,  chartered;  granted 
monopoly  for  twenty  years,  renewed  1821  and  1844.  Trad 
ing  posts  and  missions  established  at  Sitka  and  elsewhere. 

1802.     Tlinkits  practically  annihilated  the  Russian  garrison  at  Sitka. 

1804.     Sitka  again  occupied  and  fortified. 

1816.  Kotzebue,  discovering  Kotzebue  Sound,  reaches  Cape  Krusen- 
stern. 

1824.  Convention  between  Russia  and  the  United  States  regarding 

boundary,  fishing,  trading,  and  navigation.     Similar  treaty 
between  Russia  and  Great  Britain  in  1825. 

1825.  Father  Veniaminof  begins  his  missionary  work,   establishing 

a  school  at  Unalaska;   made  a  bishop  in  1834. 

1826.  Beechey  discovers  Point  Barrow,  northernmost  cape  of  Alaska. 

1831.  Baron  Wrangell,  Director  of   the  Colonies. 

1832.  Lukeen  built  redoubt  on  Kuskokwim,  named  for  Kolmakof,  who 

explored  the  river  in  1820. 

1833.  St.  Michael  trading  post  established. 

1837.  Simpson  completes  northern  coast-line  by  connecting  Return 

Reef  (Franklin,  1826),  with  Point  Barrow. 

1838.  Nulato  occupied  as  trading  post. 

1847.  Hudson   Bay   Company   descends   the   Porcupine   and   builds 

Fort  Yukon. 

1848.  American  whaling  established  north  of  Bering  Strait. 
1850.     Beginning  of  cattle  breeding  at  Kodiak  and  Cook  Inlet. 
1855.     Rodgers  explores  Arctic  Ocean  to  72°  05'  N. 

1862.  Russian-American  Company  refused  renewal  of  charter  in  1862. 

1863.  Lukeen  ascends  (first)  the  Yukon  to  Fort  Yukon. 

1865.     Kennicott  commences  exploration  of  Yukon  for  Western  Union 

Telegraph  Company. 
1867.     Russia   cedes   Alaska  to   the   United   States   for   $7,200,000. 

United  States  Army  takes  possession,  establishing  posts  at 

Sitka,  Tongass.  and  Wrangell. 
259 


260  TABLES 

1868.  United  States  custom,  revenue,  and  navigation  laws  extended 

to  Alaska. 

1869.  Alaskan  Commercial  Company  initiates  steam  navigation  on 

the  Yukon. 

1871-1880.     Ball  surveys  Alaskan  waters  and  Bering  Strait. 

1873.     Gold  discovered  in  southeastern  Alaska  (Treadwell  and  Juneau). 

1877.  United  States  troops  withdrawn  from  Alaska,  leaving  control 
to  United  States  Navy  and  Revenue  Marine  Service. 

1881.  f  International  polar  station  at  Point  Barrow,  and  system  of 

1883.  <  meteorological  stations  established  by  Signal  Corps,  United 
[  States  Army. 

1885.  Laws  of  Oregon  extended  to  Alaska  by  Congress.  Adminis 
trative  and  judicial  officers  authorized;  mining,  educational, 
and  other  legislation  enacted. 

1885.     Allen  explored  Copper,  Tanana,  and  Koyukuk  regions. 

1893.  International  conference  at  Paris  established  sixty-mile  limit 
for  pelagic  fur-seal  fishery. 

1896.  Gold  discovered  in  Yukon  region.     Gold  discovered  in  Tanana 

Valley. 

1897.  United  States  Army  returns  to  Alaska. 

1899.  Gold  discovered  in  Nome  region. 

1900.  Alaska  granted  civil  government,  with  judicial  and  other  offi 

cials  and  institutions. 
1900.  /  United  States  Military  Telegraph  System  built  and  installed; 


1904. 


consisting    of  cables   from    Seattle  via    Sitka  to    Skagway, 


from  Sitka  to  Valdez,  and  Valdez  to  Seward  and  Cordova; 
of  over  2,300  miles  of  land  lines  from  Valdez  via  Fair 
banks  and  Fort  Gibbon  to  St.  Michael,  and  from  Valdez 
to  Fort  Egbert  (Eagle);  and  of  wireless  system  from  St. 
Michael  to  Safety  Harbor,  near  Nome. 
1906.  Alaska  granted  representation  in  Congress,  through  a  delegate. 


TABLES 


261 


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TABLES 


263 


TABLE  No.  3.— GOLD  PRODUCTION,  BY  DISTRICTS 

(From  Bulletins,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey) 


Year 

Pacific 

Coast 
Belt 

Copper  River 
and  Cook  In 
let  Region 

Yukon 
Basin 

Seward 
Peninsula 

Totals 

1880 

$°0  000 

j->0  000 

1881  

40  000 

40000 

188°      .  .  . 

150  000 

150  000 

1883  
188-4       .  . 

300,000 
200  000 

$1,000 
$1,000 

301,000 
201  000 

1885  
1886  
1887  
1888 

275.000 
416,000 
645,000 
815  000 

25.000 
30.000 
30,000 
35  000 

300,000 
446,000 
675,000 
850  000 

1889      .  .  . 

860  000 

40000 

900  000 

1890  

712,000 

50.000 

762,000 

1891  
1892      .  .  . 

800,000 
970  000 

100,000 
110  000 

900.000 
1  080  000 

1893  
1894  
1895 

838,000 
882,000 
1  569  500 

$50  000 

200,000 
400,000 
709  000 

1,038,000 
1,282,000 
2  328  500 

1896  
1897  
1898  
1899  
1900  
1901  
1902  
1903  
1904  
1905 

1,941,000 
1,799500 
1,892,000 
2.152,000 
2606000 
2,072,000 
2,546  600 
2.843.000 
3,195,800 
3  430000 

120000 
175000 
150,000 
150.000 
160000 
180000 
375000 
3"5.000 
500.000 
500  000 

800,000 
450,000 
400.000 
500.000 
650000 
550,000 
800.000 
1,000,000 
1,300,000 
6  900000 

$'15,666 

75.000 
2,800.000 
4,750,000 
4,130,700 
4,561,800 
4,465,600 
4,164.600 
4  500000 

2,861,000 
2,439,500 
2.517,000 
5,602.000 
8,166.000 
6,932,700 
8,283,400 
8,683,600 
9,160,400 
5  630  000 

1906  
1907  
1908  

3,454,794 
2,891,743 
3,410,000 

332,000 
275000 
400,000 

10,750.000 
9,183.000 
10,190,000 

7,500,000 
7,000,000 
5,100,000 

22,036,794 
19,349,743 

19,100,000 

Totals  

$43,721,937 

$3,742,000 

$45,204,000 

$49,362,700 

$142,030,637 

264 


TABLES 


TABLE  No.  4.— FUR-SEAL  SKINS  OBTAINED  FROM 

ALL  WATERS  OF  ALASKA,  1868  TO  1908 

(From  Documents  of  Bureau  of  Fisheries) 


From  seal  islands 

From  pelagic  and 

Total 

[other  sources 

Year 

Number 

Value 

Number 

Value 

Number 

Value 

1868  . 

140.000 

$700,000 

4,367 

$8,734 

144,367 

$708,734 

1869  .     ... 

85,901 

644,258 

4,430 

8,860 

90,331 

653,118 

1870  .     ... 

23773 

166,411 

8,686 

21,715 

32,459 

188,126 

1871  .     .  . 

102,960 

1,544,400 

16,911 

40,586 

119,871 

1,584,986 

1872.     ... 

108,819 

1,218,774 

5,336 

12,806 

114,155 

1,231,580 

1873  .     ... 

109,117 

1,418,421 

5,229 

20,886 

114,346 

1,439,307 

1874  .     . 

110,585 

1,448,663 

5,825 

49,513 

116,410 

1,498,176 

1875  .     ... 

106,460 

1,357,365 

5,033 

45,297 

111,493 

1,402,662 

1876  .     ... 

94,657 

828,249 

5,515 

28,954 

100,172 

857,203 

1877  . 

84,310 

822,023 

5,210 

31,260 

89,520 

853,283 

1878  .     ... 

109,323 

1,071,365 

5,540 

38,780 

114,863 

1,110,145 

1879  .     ... 

110511 

2,340.713 

8,557 

111,241 

119,068 

2,451  954 

1880  .     ... 

105,718 

2,347,687 

8,418 

117,852 

114,136 

2,465,539 

1881  .... 

105,063 

2,086,193 

10,382 

80,979 

115,445 

2,167,172 

1882  .  .  . 

99,812 

1,357,443 

15,581 

79,463 

115,393 

1,436,906 

1883  

79,509 

1,606,082 

16,587 

104,498 

96,096 

1,710,580 

188-1  

105,434 

1,340,096 

16,971 

114,554 

122,405 

1,454,650 

1885  

105,024 

1,491,341 

23,040 

149,760 

128,064 

1,641,101 

1886  

104,521 

1,788,335 

28,494 

199,458 

133,015 

1,987,793 

1887  

105,760 

1,480,640 

30,628 

235,836 

136,388 

1,716,476 

1888  

103,304 

2,014,370 

36,389 

283,834 

139,693 

2,298,?04 

1889  

102,617 

1,744,489 

29,858 

291,116 

132,475 

2,035,605 

1890  

28,859 

1,053,354 

40,814 

620,403 

69,673 

1,673,757 

1891  

14,406 

432,180 

59,568 

938,196 

73,974 

1,370,376 

1892  

7509 

225,270 

46,642 

792,914 

54,151 

1,018,184 

1893  ...... 

7,390 

199,530 

30,812 

385,150 

38,202 

584,680 

1891  

15,033 

318,176 

61,838 

541,083 

76,871 

859,259 

1895  

14,846 

300,631 

56,291 

576,983 

71,137 

877.614 

1896  

30,654 

521,118 

43,917 

351,336 

74,571 

872,454 

1897  

19,200 

297,600 

24,332 

158,158 

43,532 

455,758 

1898  

18,047 

288,752 

28,552 

185,588 

46,599 

474,340 

1899  

16,812 

437,112 

34,168 

350,222 

50,980 

787,334 

1900  

22,470 

719,010 

35,191 

563,056 

57.661 

1,282,096 

1901  .  .  . 

23,066 

770,848 

24,050 

366,763 

47,116 

1,137,611 

1902  

22,182 

721,175 

22,812 

439,131 

44,994 

1,160,306 

1903  

19,292 

566,754 

27,000 

499.500 

46,292 

1,066,254 

1904  

12,960 

388,800 

11,523 

232,140 

24,483 

620,940 

1905  

12,723 

508,920 

12,660 

2*53,200 

25,383 

762,120 

1906  

14,476 

445  137 

15,581 

*311,620 

30,057 

756,757 

1907  .  .  . 

14,964 

*475,107 

18,816 

*376,320 

33,770 

8ol,427 

1908  

15,430 

*459,950 

18,151 

*363,020 

33,581 

822,970 

Total  

2,533,497 

39,946,772 

909,705 

10,380,765 

3,443,202 

50,327,537 

*  Estimated. 


TABLE  No.  5.— GLACIERS 

(C=Cook  Inlet.    G  =  Glacier  Bay.    H  =  Holkam  Bay.    L= Lynn  Canal. 

M=McKinley  Range.     P=Prince  William  Sound.     S=St. 

Elias  Range.     W=Wrangell  Group.) 


NAMES   AND    LOCALITY 


Adams  (G). 

Agassiz,  Louis  (S). 

Allen,  Henry  T.,  Headwaters  of 

Tanana. 

Alsek,  on  Alsek  River. 
Amherst  (P). 
Annin  (P). 
Atrevida  (S). 

Augusta,  Mrs.  I.  C.  Russell  (S). 
Auk. 

Bainbridge  (P). 
Baird,    Spencer  F.,    on    Thomas 

Bay. 

Baird,  on  Lowe  River. 
Barry,  Thomas  H.  (P). 
Bering,  Vitus  J.,  on  Controller  Bay . 
Bertha  (L). 
Black  (S). 
Blackstone  (P). 
Brady,  John  G.,  Taylor  Bay. 
Brown  (H). 
Bryn  Mawr  (P). 
Caldwell,  Kichatna  River. 
Cantwell,  Delta  River. 
Canon  Creek,  now  Shoup. 
Carrol,  James  (G). 
Cascade,  near  Valdez. 
Cascade  (S). 
Cascade  (P). 
Casement,  R.  L.  (S). 
Castner,  Joseph  C.,  Delta  River. 
Cataract  (P). 
Chamberlain,  F.  M.  (S). 
Charpentier  (G). 


Chesnina  (W). 

Chetudina  (W). 

Chickaloon  (C). 

Childs,  George  W.,  Copper  River. 

Chisana  (W). 

Cola  (S). 

Columbia,    formerly    Freemantle 

(P). 

Copper,  source  Copper  River. 
Corbin,  Henry  C.,  near  Valdez. 
Crescent  (P). 
Crillon,  near  Mt.  Crillon. 
Culross  (P). 
Cushing,  Henry  P.  (G). 
Dadina  (W). 
Daisy  (S). 

Dalton,  now  Turner. 
Davidson,  George  (L). 
Dawes,  Henry  L.  (H). 
Dawes,  No.  2  (H). 
De  Blondeau  (L). 
Dirt  (G). 
Dirt,  now  Mud. 
Doroshin,  Peter  P.  (C). 
Duffield,  now  Turner. 
Dying  (G). 
Eagle  (L). 

Fairweather,  Kakhegina  River. 
Fassett,  H.  C.  (S). 
Ferebee,  Nelson  M.  (L). 
Fidele  (M). 
First,  now  Popof . 
Fleischmann  (M). 
Flood,  Stikine  River. 


265 


266 


TABLES 


Foster,  now  Taku. 

Frederika,  Mrs.  Schwatka,  Skolai 

Creek. 

Freemantle,  now  Columbia. 
Galiano,  Don  D.  A.  (S). 
Garrison  (L). 
Gates  (W). 
Geike,  Archibald  (G). 
Girdled  (G). 
Goodwin,  Copper  River. 
Grand  Pacific  (G). 
Grand  Plateau,  Alsek  Delta. 
Granite  Canon  (G). 
Great,  Stikine  River. 
Great  Bering,  Icy  Bay. 
Grewingk  (C). 
Guyot,  Arnold  (S). 
Hanna  (M). 

Harriman,  Edward  H.  (P). 
Harvard  (P). 
Harvey  (M). 

Hay  den,  Ferdinand  W.  (S). 
Hayes,  Charles  W.,  'Hayes  River. 
Herbert,  Hilary  A.  (L). 
Herron,  Joseph  H.  (M). 
Hidden  (G). 
Hogback,  near  Valdez. 
Hubbard,  Gardiner  G.  (S). 
Hugh  Miller  (G). 
Irene  (L). 
Jacksina  (W). 
Johns  Hopkins  (G). 
Kadischle,  native  name  for  Norris. 
Ka-ra-kai,  now  Flood. 
Kennicott  (W). 
Klutina,  Klutina  River. 
Klutlan,  Klutlan  River. 
Kluvesna  (W). 
Knapp  (L). 
Knik  (C). 

Kushtaka,  near  Controller  Bay. 
Kuskulana  (W). 
La  Perouse,  near  Icy  Cape. 
Le  Conte,  Joseph,  Le  Conte  Bay. 
Leslie,  head  Chilkat  River. 
Libbey,  William,  Jr.  (S). 
Little,  now  Popof. 
Long  (W). 


Lucia,  Mrs.  Kerr  (S). 
McBride  (G). 
Makushin,  Unalaska. 
Malaspina  (S). 

Martin  River,  Controller  Bay. 
Marvine,  Archibald  E.  (S). 
Matanuska,  Matanuska  River. 
Meade,  Richard  W.  (L). 
Mendenhall,  Thomas  C.,  near  Ju- 

neau. 

Miles,  Nelson  A.,  Copper  River. 
Miller,  Cyrus  R.  (S). 
Morse,  J.  F.  (G). 
Moser,  Jefferson  F.  (S). 
Mountain,  Thomas  Bay. 
Mud,  Stikine  River,  formerly  Dirt. 
Muir,  John,  Muir  Inlet  (G). 
Muldrow,  Robert  (M). 
Nachgelssit,  Klehini  River. 
Nadina  (W). 
Newton  (S). 
Nizina,  Nizina  River. 
Norris,  Basil,  Taku  Inlet. 
Nunatak  (S). 
O'Connor,  Alsek  River. 
Orange  (S). 
Patterson,    Carlile   P.,    Frederick 

Sound. 

Peters,  now  Hanna. 
Popof,  formerly  First,  or  Little, 

Stikine  River. 
Portage,  Kenai  Peninsula. 
Radcliffe  (P). 
Rainbow  (L). 
Regal  (W). 

Reid,  Harry  F.,  Reid  Inlet. 
Rendu  (G). 
Roaring  (P). 
Rodman,  Hugh  (S). 
Rohn,  Oscar,  Nizina  River. 
Russell,  Skolai  Pass. 
Saksaia  (L). 
Sawyers,  No.  1  (H). 
Sawyers,  No.  2  (H). 
Schulze,  now  Taku. 
Serpentine  (P). 
Seward  (S). 
Sheridan,  Philip  H.,  Copper  Delta. 


TABLES 


267 


Shoup,  near  Valdez. 

Slope,  Controller  Bay. 

Small,  Frederick  Sound. 

Smith  (P). 

Soule,  Portland  Canal. 

Southeast,  now  Adams. 

Southern,  Cook  Inlet. 

Spurr,    Josiah     E.,     near    Skolai 

Pass. 

Ssitkaje,  now  Davidson. 
Stairway  or  Surprise  (P). 
Summit,  near  Le  Conte  Bay. 
Sumner,  now  Turner. 
Sundum  (H). 
Surprise  or  Stairway  (P). 
Taku,  Taku  Inlet. 
Talkeetna  (C). 
Tana,  Tana  River. 
Tanana,  62°  N.,  142°  30'  W. 
Tazlina,  Tazlina  River. 
Thunder,  now  Le  Conte. 
Toboggan  (P). 


Turner,  John  H.  (S). 

Twin,  Taku  Inlet. 

Twin  (G). 

Twins,  now  Harvard  and  Yale. 

Tyndall  (S). 

Valdez,  Valdez. 

Vassar  (P). 

Villard,  Henry  (L). 

Washington,  now  Barry. 

Wedge  (P). 

Wellesley  (P). 

White  (G). 

Wimbledon,  now  Brady. 

Windom,  now  Norris. 

Wood,  C.  E.  S.  (G). 

Wood  worth,    Jay    B.,     Tasnuna 

River. 

Worthington,  near  Valdez. 
Wossnessenski,  Elias  G.  (C). 
Wright,  George  F.,  Taku  River. 
Yakut  at  (S). 
Yale  (P). 


268 


TABLES 


TABLE   No.   6.— MOUNTAINS  AND   VOLCANOES 


Name  and  Locality 

Height 
in  feet 

Akutan,  Akutan  Island  
Amukta,  Amukta  Island 

4,100 
3  738 

Active  volcano. 
Volcano  inactive  since  1791 

Augusta,  St.  Elias  Range  
Blackburn,  Wrangell  group  
Bogoslof.  . 

13,918 
16,140 
900 

Active  volcano      See  p    169 

Carlisle,  Carlisle  Island  
Castle  Peak,  Wrangell  Mountains  .  .  . 
Cleveland,  Chuginadak  Island  
Cook,  St.  Elias  Range  
Crillon,  Fairweather  Range  
Dagelet,  St.  Elias  Range  
Dall,  McKinley  Range  
Devil's  Thumb,  Frederick  Sound  .... 
Drum  Wrangell  group  . 

7,500 
10,314 
8,150 
13,788 
15,900 
9,708 
9,000 
9.077 
12  002 

Volcano,  inactive  since  1800. 
Volcano,  inactive  since  1838. 

Edgecumbe  Sitka 

3  467 

Fairweather  
Foraker,  McKinley  Range  
Gareloi,  Gareloi  Island  

15,292 
17  100 
5,334 

Volcano,  inactive  since  1838. 

Gordon,  Wrangell  group  
Grewingk,  Bogoslof  Islands  
Hayes,  McKinley  Range  
Herbert,  Herbert  Island  

9,100 
900 
14,000 
5,291 

Active.     See  p.  169. 
Volcano,  inactive  since  1800. 

Hubbard,  St.  Elias  Range  
Huxley  St  Elias 

12,064 
11  907 

Iliamna,  Cook  Inlet  
Irving,  St.  Elias  
Jarvis  Wrangell  group 

12,066 
9,000 
12  '>30 

Active 

Kagamil,  Kagamil  Island  
Kates  Needle,  on  Stikine  
Kimball,  south  of  Tanana  River  .... 
Kliuchef,  Atka  Island  
Korovin  Atka  Island  

9960 
9,000 

4  988 

Volcano,  inactive  since  1838. 

145°  W.  longitude. 
Volcano,  inactive  since  1838. 
Volcano   inactive  since  1844 

La  Perouse,  Fairweather  Mountains.  . 
Lituya,  Fairweather  Mountains  
Logan,  St.  Elias  Range  
Makushin,  Unalaska  Island  .... 
McKinley  
Newton,  St.  Elias  Range 

10,470 
1832 
19,539 
5691 
20,300 
13  744 

At  headwaters  of  Kuskokwim. 

Pavlof  Alaska  Peninsula  . 

Pogromni,  Unimak  Island  
Redoubt,  Cook  Inlet  
Regal,  Wrangell  group  
Russell,  McKinley  Range  
St.  Elias  
Sanford  Wrangell  group  .... 

6,500 
11,270 
13,400 
11,350 
18,024 
13  500 

Volcano,  inactive  since  1829. 
Active  volcano. 

Schwatka,  Yukon  Valley  
Seattle  St.  Elias  Range.  .  .  . 

9.000 
10000 

In  66°  N.,  146°  W. 

Sergief  Atka  Island  . 

Shishaldin,  Unimak  Island  
Sitkin,  Little  Sitkin  Island  
Spurr  McKinley  Range 

9,387 
5.033 
10925 

Volcano,  inactive  since  1838. 
Most  westerly  volcano  (inactive). 

Tulik,  Umnak  Island  
Vancouver,  St.  Elias  Range  
Vsevidof  Umnak  Island  . 

15666 
8  800 

Volcano  inactive. 
Volcano   inactive  since  1790 

Wrangell  

14  005 

East  of  Copper  River,  62°  N. 

Yunaska,  Four  Craters  Islands  
Zanetti,  Wrangell  group.  .  .... 

2,684 
12  980 

Volcano,  inactive  since  1830. 

TABLES 


269 


TABLE  No.  7.— SALMON  AND   COD   FISHERIES, 

1868  TO  1908 
(From  "  Fisheries  of  Alaska,"  by  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Fisheries) 


Year 

Cod  Fishery 

Salmon  Fishery 

Value 

Ves 
sels 

Value 

Salted 
value 

Can 
neries 

Canned 
cases 
(48  1-lb. 
cans) 

1868  
1869  

14 
8 
10 
6 
3 
4 
4 
4 
6 
7 
9 
10 
5 
3 
9 
9 
5 
8 
7 
6 
6 
4 
4 
8 
6 
6 
5 
6 
9 
10 
10 
11 
10 
10 
12 
13 
16 

21 

1202,138 
92,880 
82,258 
64,008 
25,200 
39,600 
27,432 
42,336 
54,576 
45,000 
78,700 
83520 
43.350 
44.550 
63,480 
88,440 
98250 
79,290 
83,370 
71,550 
59847 
39  150 
57868 
93.793 
118,080 
109,440 
80,460 
76,290 
76,440 
127,800 
122,550 
206,550 
218,550 
180,480 
269,760 
261,240 
261,316 

181,224 
110,907 
146,372 
134,775 

$16,000 
13,600 
14,400 
6,300 
9,000 
7,200 
11,200 
9.600 
14,400 
15,700 
16,800 
28,000 
29,600 
15,840 
53,010 
65,259 
54,954 
29070 
43,749 
35,802 
85500 
58013 
162,351 
71,304 
140,057 
120.083 
176,060 
85,404 
65,198 
110,936 
181,360 
167,865 
238,890 
171,339 
212,688 
223,368 
89,209 

143,811 
139,838 
240.549 
352,707 

'2 
2 
1 
1 
3 
6 
7 
6 
9 
10 
16 
37 
35 
30 
15 
22 
21 
23 
29 
29 
30 
32 
42 
55 
64 
60 
55 

42 
47 
48 
50 

•'•••• 

1870  

1871 

1872  

1873  



1874  
1875  



1876  

"  8,159 
12,530 
6,539 
8,977 
21,745 
48,337 
64,886 
83,415 
142,065 
206,677 
412,115 
719.196 
682,591 
801,400 
474,717 
643,654 
686,440 
626.530 
966,707 
909,078 
965,097 
1,078,146 
1,548,139 
2,024,269 
2,545,298 
2,249,137 
1,953,746 

1877  
1878  



1879  . 

1880  . 

1881  
1882  .  .  . 
1883 



1884  
1885  
1886 

1887  .  .  . 

1888  
1889 

1890. 

1891 

1892 

1893  .  . 

1894  
1895  .  . 

1896  

1897  .  .  . 
1898 

1899   
1900   
1901   
1902   
1903   



1904  

1905  .  . 
1906 

*  $59,668,771 
6,304,671 
7,896,392 
8,781,366 
10,185,783 

1,907,967 
2.246,989 
2,202,100 
2,606,972 

1907 

1908  
Total  

$92,836,983 

*  The  value  of  salmon  canned  prior  to  1905  is  estimated  at  $3  per  case. 


270 


TABLES 


TABLE  No.  8.— PRODUCTS  OF  ALASKA  FROM 
1868  TO  1908 


Year 

Land  Furs 

Aquatic 
Furs,  includ 
ing  fur-seal 

Fishery  Products 

Minerals 

Salmon 

All  others 

1868  
1869  
1870  

1871  
1872  
1873  
1874  
1875  
1876 

t$61,012 
281,838 
127,478 
129,149 
135.931 
189,503 
150,340 
149,394 
171,200 
200,651 

152,664 

128,952 
179,148 
269,710 
256,217 
266  134 
288.604 
232,185 
291,940 
294,562 

265.010 

286,768 
387.294 
383,235 
367,615 
227,432 
144,048 
81,372 
45,724 
147,633 

243,784 
240,589 
287  013 
126,829 
182,326 
108,949 
231  747 
323,480 

*$1,  154,979 
1,099,363 
634,371 

2,022,541 
1,669  135 
1,876  852 
1,935,731 
1,840,217 
1  294  758 
1,290,838 
1,547,700 
2,889.509 
2,903,094 

2,690,377 
1,960,111 
2,233  785 
1,977  675 
2,164  126 
2,510,818 
2,240  501 
2,821,229 
2,558  630 
2,196,782 

1,456,601 
1,104,409 
570,905 
945,274 
963,389 
958.679 
541,983 
560,545 
873,559 
1,368,321 

1,174,778 
1,197,473 
1,203,421 
659,107 
§994,350 
f820,358 
t785  359 
t700,000 

$16,000 
13600 
14,400 

6,300 
9,000 
7200 
11,200 
9600 
14400 
15.700 
41  272 
65590 
52,517 

42,771 
118,245 
210  270 
249  612 
279,315 
469  9^4 
655,833 
1.321  845 
2.215  601 
2,210,124 

2,475,504 
1,565,019 
2,041,045 
2,236,380 
1,964,994 
2,966,519 
2,866,630 
3,182,457 
3,404  653 
4,917,065 

6,247,961 
7851,534 
7  059  252 
5,967,577 
5,972,370 
8,166,373 
9,166,008 
10,671,651 

$290,638 
263,030 
249,248 

168,968 
156,400 
94,000 
104.982 
128,046 
216801 
107  000 
143  150 
180  809 
126,683 

125  237 
138,866 
257,422 
250,533 
248,364 
276,242 
261  174 
125.633 
137  051 
150,376 

281,238 
219,491 
281,263 
251,472 
158,113 
154,325 
266,346 
247,072 
344.457 
386,229 

437,301 

458,770 
445  993 
491,008 
111,935873 
488,272 
560746 
768,664 

1877  
1878  
1879  
1880  

1881.  . 
1882  
1883  
1884  
1885.  .. 

1886  
1887  
1888  

J$4,686,714 

916,920 
1,096,000 
1,048,570 
1,305,257 
2,386,722 
2,980,087 
2,538,241 
2,585.575 
5,703,076 
8,238,294 

7,007,398 
8,400,693 
8,941,614 
9.567,535 
16.478,142 
23  375,008 
20,887  055 
19,929,800 

1889  
1890  .  . 

1891.  . 
1892 

1893  

1894  
1895.  .  . 
1896  
1897  
1898  
1899  
1900  

1901  
1902  
1903  
1904  
1905  
1906  
1907  
1908  

Total  .  .  . 

$8,039,186 

$62,392,083 

$96,772,381 

$12,377,286 

$147,972,701 

Grand  total $327,553,637 


*  For  following  periods  aquatic  furs,  other  than  fur-seal, 
tributed,  on  data  from  United  States  Bureau  of  Fisheries,  £ 
$1,338,735  ;  1871-1880,  $4,375,551  ;  1881-1890,  $5,232,050; 
1901-1904,  $148,668.  fEstimated.  J  1880  to  1890  inclusive 
1868-1905,  which  cannot  be  accurately  distributed.  ||  This 
values,  which  cannot  be  distributed  to  the  proper  years : 
$921,562;  whalebone  and  oil,  1868-1905,  $583,328. 


have  been  equally  dis- 

LS  follows  :    1868-1870, 

1891-1900,  $862,250  ; 

§  Includes  hair-seal, 

includes  the  following 

Halibut,   1890-1905. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


(Glaciers,  islands,  mountains,  rivers,  etc.,  are  grouped  under  their 
general  headings.) 


ABBE,  C.,  19. 
Afognak,  4,  209. 
Aghilan  Pinnacles,  169. 
Agriculture,    44-48;    Department 

of,  220,  223,  224;  Secretary 

of,  220. 

Alaska,  Governor  of,  14. 
"Alaska  Almanac,"  14,  174. 
Alaska  Commercial  Co.,  189,  241, 

249,  250,  260. 
Alaska  Juneau  Co.,  68,  71. 
Alaska  Marble  Co.,  64. 
Alaska-Mexican  Mining  Co.,  68. 
Alaska  Packers  Association,  132. 
Alaska  Peninsula,  4,  207,  214,  215, 

217,  225,  230. 

Alaska  Perseverance  Co.,  71. 
Alaska  Steamship  Co.,  242. 
Alaska  TreadweU  Mining  Co.,  68. 
Alaska  United  Mining  Co.,  68. 
Alaskan  mountain  range,  164. 
Alaskan  Road  Commissioners,  26- 

30,  33,  96. 

Aleutian  Islands,  4,  231-235. 
Aleutian  Mountains,  165. 
Aleuts,   177,   178,  205,  225,  231, 

232. 

Allen,  H.  T.,  42,  99,  260. 
Allen,  James,  252. 
American  whaling,  259. 
Anderson,  38. 
Andreanof  Islands,  4,  232. 
Antimony,  57. 
Anvik,  94,  197. 
Anvil  Creek,  82. 
Arctic  coast,  6;  climate,  18. 


Army,  12,  34,  44  223,  260;  at 
home,  40;  Austin  on,  33; 
civic  work  of,  37;  duties  of, 
35,  43;  in  explorations,  42; 
in  Klondike  stampede,  37; 
in  Yukon  Valley,  38-40;  re 
ligious  work  by,  36;  signal 
Corps,  37,  41,  260;  stations 
of,  43. 

Athapascans,  178,  225. 

Atka,  4,  231,  232. 

Attu,  1,  231,  232,  234. 

Austin,  O.  P.,  34. 

BAKER,  M.,  10,  19. 

Baptists,  195. 

Baranoff,  A.  A.,  260. 

Barnette,  E.  T.,  99. 

Bears,  212-214;  blue,  213;  black, 

212,  218,   226;   brown,   212, 

213,  220;  Dalli,  214;  grizzly, 
212,  213;  Kidder,  214;  Kodi- 
ak,  214;  polar,  214. 

Beaver,  212,  228. 

Beechey,  F.  W.,  228,  260. 

Belkofski,  207. 

Bering,  V.,  260. 

Bering  Sea,  5,  17. 

Berner  Bay  region,  72. 

Bethel,  196,  201. 

Bettles,  94. 

Big  Hurrah,  83. 

Biological  Survey,  224;  surveys, 

224,  225,  230. 
Birds,  119,  225. 
Bison,  227,  228. 


273 


274 


INDEX 


Bogoslof  Islands,  169-173. 

Bonanza  Creek,  237. 

Boone  and  Crockett  Club,  222. 

Brady,  Gov.  J.,  195. 

Bristol  Bay,  244. 

Brooks,  A.  H.,  10,  33,  54,  59,  65, 
70,  80,  88,  89,  92,  98,  114, 
115,  117,  149,  239,  240;  ex 
plorations  by,  99;  on  Allen's 
explorations,  42. 

Burnell,  G.  C.,  252. 

Burroughs,  J.,  48,  143,  145,  146, 
151,  167,  168,  206,  209,  210. 

CAINE,  C.,  167,  218,  222. 

Camp  equipment,  227. 

Canadian  Government,  239. 

Canadian  Pacific  Steamship  Co., 
242. 

Candle,  85. 

Candlefish,  140. 

Cantwell,  J.  C.,  229. 

Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  197. 

Capelin,  140. 

Caribou,  207,  213-215,  220,  221; 
distribution,  208;  migration, 
215. 

Carmel,  196. 

Catholics,  199. 

Cattle  breeding,  259. 

Cement,  64. 

Census  Bureau,  223. 

Chena,  23,  31. 

Chugach  Mountains,  164;  forest, 
209. 

Circle,  94. 

Cleary  Creek,  31. 

Climate,  Chapter  III,  also  261, 
262;  Ft.  Yukon,  17;  interior, 
18;  Nuchek,  17;  St.  Michael, 
18;  Sitka,  16,  17;  Unalaska, 
16;  Valdez,  17. 

Coal,  Bering  River,  114;  Cape 
Lisburne,  88;  Colville  River, 
88;  Kachemak  Bay,  117; 
Lands,  56;  Matanuska  River, 
117;  production,  57;  Seward 


Peninsula,  87;  Tanana  Val 
ley,  101;  Yukon  Valley,  97,  98. 

Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  223. 

Cobb,  J.  N.,  133,  137-139,  211. 

Cod,  134-136,  269;  banks,  135; 
catch,  135;  fishery,  136; 
shore-stations,  134;  value, 
269. 

Coldfoot,  94. 

Collier,  A.  J.,  92,  98. 

Commanding  General,  Dept.,  44. 

Commissioners,  U.  S.,  14. 

Congregationalists,  197. 

Congress,  U.  S.,  181,  190,  200; 
delegate  to,  14,  260. 

Controller  Bay,  117. 

Convention  between  Russia  and 
United  States,  259;  Russia 
and  Great  Britain,  259. 

Cook,  F.  A.,  165. 

Cook,  Captain,  259. 

Cook  Inlet,  3,  204,  225,  230; 
natives,  205. 

Copper,  Chitina  basin,  111;  Cop 
per  Valley,  108;  Ketchikan 
district,  62;  Kotsina  region, 
mining,  56;  Nizina  Valley, 
111;  Prince  of  Wales  Id.,  62; 
Prince  William  Sound,  62, 
117;  production  of,  62. 

Copper  River  R.R.,  150. 

Copper  Valley,  46,  108. 

Cordova,  32. 

Cormack,  G.  W.,  237. 

Council,  33. 

Courts,  12-14. 

Creoles,  205. 

DALL,  W.  H.,  12,  19,  224,  226,  228, 
260;  on  Yukon  natives,  186. 
Davidson,  G.,  17,  158,  159,  171. 
Dawson,  31,  238,  240. 
Deer,  216. 

Deering,  85,  196,  201,  202. 
Deshnef,  S.,  259. 
Ditches,  86. 
Disenchantment  Bay,  155. 


INDEX 


275 


Douglas,  68,  116. 
Dun,  R.,  165. 
Duncan,  W.,  181,  198. 
Dutch-Harbor,  233. 

EAGLE,  93. 

Eagle  River,  72. 

Eaton,  201,  202. 

Education,  188-192;  Bureau  of, 
185,  192;  Commission  of,  189, 
191,  202;  industrial,  192;  195, 
196;  religious,  189;  secular, 
190-192. 

Elephants,  227. 

Elliott,  H.  W.,  94,  119,  120,  124, 
211,  231,  234. 

Episcopalians,  197. 

Escholtz  Bay,  226. 

Esquimaux,  175,  179,  202,  225. 

Explorer  Naturalist,  206. 

Explorations  in  Alaska,  42-44. 

FAIRBANKS,  103-106;  mining  dis 
trict,  99-103;  prices,  250; 
trade,  249. 

Fernow,  B.  E.,  53. 

Fertilizers,  139. 

Field,  Kate,  155. 

Fiords,  3,  7. 

Fish,  Sergeant,  37. 

Fisheries  of  Alaska,  133;  Bureau 
of,  132,  141,  223;  cod,  134- 
.  136,  269;  Commissioner  of, 
125,  130,  136;  fur-seal,  118- 
124;  halibut,  136-138;  her 
ring,  138;  salmon,  125-133, 
269;  values,  264,  269. 

Forests,  48-52;  Chugach,  48;  in 
Cook  Inlet  region,  52;  in  Ta- 
nana  Valley,  50,  48-52;  value 
of,  50,  209;  Tongass,  48. 

Ft.  Davis,  43. 

Ft.  Egbert,  23,  43,  46,  93,  109. 

Ft.  Gibbon,  21,  24,  43,  46,  94. 

Ft.  Liscum,  43. 

Ft.  W.  H.  Seward,  43. 


Ft.  Yukon,  94;  Fortymile,  93-95, 

Fossil  animals,  flora,  230;  plants. 
229. 

Fox  Islands,  5,  231,  233. 

Fox-farming,  233-235;  farms,  234, 
235. 

Foxes,  234. 

Friends,  Society  of,  196. 

Frozen  ground,  19. 

Furs:  aquatic,  270;  fox,  234;  fur- 
seal,  122;  land,  235,  270; 
values,  235,  270. 

Fur-seal,  118,  124;  catch,  121, 
264;  investigations,  124;  pel 
agic  hunting,  122-124;  pelagic 
regulations,  260;  reservation, 
120;  values,  122,  264. 

GAME,  205-207;  big,  222;  close 
season,  220;  export  of,  221; 
guides,  221;  licenses,  220; 
limits  for  capture,  221;  reser 
vations,  221;  resources,  222. 

Gannett,  H.,  2,  10,  142. 

Geological  Survey,  54,  223. 

Georgeson,  C.  C.,  53. 

Gilbert,  C.  H.,  171. 

Gilbert,  G.  K., 

Gilmore,  C.  W.,  226,  230. 

Glacier  Bay,  155. 

Glaciers,  4,  8,  17,  152-159,  265- 
267;  Columbia,  156-158; 
Davidson,  154;  Fidele,  158; 
Glacier  Bay,  155;  Hamman 
fiord,  156;  Hubbard,  155; 
La  Perouse,  158;  Life  of, 
158;  Malaspina,  155,  158; 
Mendenhall,  154;  Muir,  154; 
Pacific  Coast,  159;  Sumdum, 
153;  Taku,  153. 

Gold  Creek,  71,  75. 

Gold:  discoveries  of,  260;  lode 
mines,  68,  111;  mining,  54- 
56;  placer  mines,  75,  76,  79; 
production,  56,  69-72,  75,  76- 
80,  82,  86,  88,  108,  240,  263; 
source  of,  88,  89. 


276 


INDEX 


Gold-bearing  districts:  Baker 
Creek,  96;  Berner  Bay  region, 
72;  Birch  Creek,  95;  Bowne- 
field,  100;  California  placers, 
240;  Chandlar,  95,  98;  Chesto- 
china,  110;  Circle,  95;  Cleary 
Creek,  102;  Coldfoot,94;  Cook 
Inlet,  116,  263;  Copper  Val 
ley,  110,  263;  Council,  78,  80, 
82,  83;  Douglas  Id.,  68;  Ester 
Creek,  102;  Fairbanks  dis 
trict,  99,  102-103;  Fairhaven, 
80,  82,  85,  92;  Fortymile,  95, 
98;  Glenn  Creek,  96;  Gold 
Creek,  71,  75;  Goodhope,  86; 
Hotsprings,  101;  Innoko,  96; 
Juneau  region,  66-77;  Kau- 
tishna,  100;  Ketchikan  dis 
trict,  64,  66,  76;  Klondike, 
238-240;  Koyuk,  86;  Koyu- 
kuk,  96;  Kongarok,  80,  82,  84, 
92;  Lituya  Bay,  76;  Minook, 
94;  Nizina,  110;  Nome,  78- 
82,  92;  Pacific  Coast  belt,  263; 
Porcupine,  76;  Port  Clarence, 
82,  84;  Rampart,  96;  Seward 
Peninsula,  78-85,  88,  92,  263; 
Sheep  Creek,  71,  75;  Silver 
Bow,  68;  Sitka,  72;  Skagway, 
76;  Susitna,  116;  Tanana 
Valley,  107;  Tenderfoot,  101; 
Treadwell,  68-70;  Turnagain 
Arm,  117;  Valdez  Creek,  116; 
Yaktag,  76;  Yentna,  116, 
204;  Yukon  basin,  98,  263. 

Golofnin,  195,  201. 

Government,  11-14,  260. 

Granite,  65. 

Grant,  U.  S.,  117. 

Graphite,  57. 

Greek  Church,  178,  188,  193,  226, 
230,  233;  bishop  of,  193; 
communicants,  193. 

Grewingk,  C.,  166. 

Grewingk  Id.,  169-171. 

Gwosdeff,  M.,  259. 

Gypsum,  65. 


HADLEY,  63. 

Haidas,  180. 

Haines,  185,  195. 

Halibut,  136-138;  catch,  136;  fish 
ery,  137;  values,  137. 

Harriman,  E.  H.,  224;  expedition, 
10,  159,  208,  224;  fiord,  156. 

Harris,  R.,  68. 

Harrison,  E.  H.,  14,  147,  176. 

Healy,  Captain,  170. 

Henderson,  237. 

Herring,  138;   values,    138. 

Hess,  F.  L.,  92. 

Higginson,  Mrs.  E.,  144,  145,  151, 
157,  162-164,  168,  187. 

Hitchcock,  E.  A.,  185. 

Holy  Cross  Mission,  46,  199. 

Homesteads,  13. 

Hooniah,  195. 

Hooper,  Captain,  228. 

Hope,  205. 

Horse,  fossil,  227. 

Hot  Springs,  172,  173. 

Howard,  O.  O.,  195. 

Howkan,  195. 

Hudson  Bay  Company,  259. 

ICE-CLIFFS,  227,  228. 

Igloo,  84. 

Ikogmut,  94. 

Iliamna,  206. 

Inside  Passage,  142. 

Interior,  Secretary  of,  185. 

Islands:  Afognak,  4;  Aleutian, 
4,  231-233;  Andreanof,  4 
232;  Atka,  4,  232;  Attu,  1, 
232,  234;  Bogoslof,  165-173; 
Fox,  5,  233;  Grewingk,  165- 
173;  Kodiak,  195,  209,  210, 
234,  259;  Long,  234;  Near, 

4,  232;    North    Semidi,  233; 
Otter,    118;     Pribilof,   5,    12, 
118,    233;    Rat,  4,    232;    St. 
George,  12,  118;  St.  Paul,  12, 
118;  Shumagin,  234;  Umnak, 
231;    Unimak,    5;    Unalaska, 

5,  231-233;  Walrus,  118. 


INDEX 


277 


JACKSON,  SHELDON,  189,  194,  195, 

200,  202. 

Jocelyn,  S.  P.,  194. 
Jordan,  D.  S.,  129,  133. 
Jualin,  72. 
Juneau,  66-68. 
Juneau  Gold  Belt,  66-72,  77. 
Juneau,  Joseph,  68. 

KACHEMAK  BAY,  204,  206. 

Karluk,  209,  210. 

Kasilof,  205. 

Katalla,  32,  110. 

Kellett,  H.,  226. 

Kenai,  205,  206. 

Kenai  Peninsula,  150,  203,  206. 

Kennicott,  R.,  259. 

Ketchikan,  61;  mining  district, 
60-66. 

Kidder,  J.  H.,  222. 

Killisnoo,  139. 

Kinzie,  A.  H.,  69. 

Klondike:  mines,  238-240;  rail 
way,  238;  stampede,  37. 

Knowlton,  F.  H,  229,  230. 

Kodiak,  195,  209,  210,  234, 
259. 

Koserefski,  199. 

Kotzebue,  O.  von,  226,  228,  259. 

Kotzebue,  196,  201. 

Kougarok,  84. 

Kowak  River,  229. 

Kukak  Bay,  207. 

Kutchin,  H.  M.,  139. 

LAPPS,  202. 

Laws,  Chapter  II,  also  260. 

Lawlessness,  12. 

Lituya  Bay,  76. 

Lukeen,  I.  S.,  259. 

McKiNLEY,  ascent  of,  161. 
Maddren,  A.  G.,  226,  230. 
Mail-routes,  254,  255. 
Mammals,  225. 

Mammoth  (fossil),  226-228;  tusks, 
227,  228. 


Marble:  production;  quarries,  64. 

Marsh,  133. 

Martin,  G.  C.,  117. 

Merriam,  C.  Hart,  170,  173,  224. 

Methodists,  195. 

Metlakatla,  181,  198;  story  of, 
187,  198. 

Metlakatlans,  195. 

Minerals,  total  value,  270. 

Mining  ditches,  86. 

Mining  and  Mineral  wealth,  57. 

Mining  industry,  54-59. 

Missions:  Chapter  XXI,  192; 
Baptist,  195;  Catholic,  199, 
201;  Congregational,  197,  201; 
Episcopal,  197;  Friends,  196, 
201;  Greek,  193;  Methodist, 
195,  201;  Metlakatlan,  198; 
Moravian,  196,  201;  Nor 
wegian,  195,  201;  Presby 
terian,  195,  196;  Protestant, 
194;  Swedish,  195,  201. 

Mitchell,  Wm.,  252. 

Moffit,  F.  H.,  89,  92,  117. 

Moose,  205,  215,  216,  222. 

Moravians,  196. 

Moser,  J.  F.,  133. 

Mountain-climbing,  165;  McKin- 
ley,  165;  St.  Elias,  165; 
Wrangell,  165. 

Mountains,  160-165. 

Mountains  and  peaks:  Akutan,  268; 
Alaskan,  164;  Aleutian,  165; 
Chugach,  164;  Edgecumbe, 
73;  Endicott,  161,  213,  215; 
Fairweather,  161,  162;  Iliam- 
na,  166;  Logan,  162;  McKin- 
ley,  160,  164,  165;  Makushin, 
166;  Nuzotin,  164,  213;  Pav- 
lof,  167;  Pogromni,  168,  169; 
Redoubt,  167;  St.  Elias,  161- 
165;  Shishaldin,  168,  169; 
Wrangell,  8,  163,  165-167. 

Mountain  goats,  207,  208,  217. 

Mountain  sheep,  217,  218. 

Muir,  John,  148,  153-156,  159, 164. 

Musk-ox,  226,  227. 


278 


INDEX 


NATIVES,  175;  condition  of,  184- 
185. 

(See  Aleuts,  Athapascans,  Es 
quimaux,  Haidas,  and  Met- 
lakatlas.) 

Navigation:  Copper  River,  24; 
Dawson-Fairbanks,  23;  Daw- 
son-Tanana,  22;  Dawson- 
White  Horse,  22;  Eagle-Ta- 
nana,  23;  Fairbanks-Tana- 
na,  23;  Nome-Fairbanks,  93; 
Nome-Seattle,  244;  St.  Mi- 
chael-Tanana,  93,  245;  Seat- 
tle-Dawson,  238;  Seattle, 
Southeastern  Alaska,  243; 
Seattle,  Southwestern  Alaska, 
243;  Tanana,  22-24;  W.  H. 
Dawson,  237;  Yukon,  21-24. 

Navy,  U.  S.,  12,  223. 

Nazan  harbor,  233. 

Nelson,  E.  W.,  37. 

Nome,  78,  82,  90;  trade,  249. 

North  American  T.  &  T.  Co.,  241, 
250. 

Northern  Commercial  Co.,  121, 
210,  241,  249. 

Northern  Navigation  Co.,  105. 

Northern  Pacific  T.  &  P.  Co.,  132. 

Northwest  Mounted  Police,  238. 

Norton  Sound,  5. 

Norwegian  Lutherans,  195. 

Novidskoff,  N.,  231. 

Nuchek,  17. 

Nulato,  199,  201,  259. 

OPHIR  CREEK,  33,  83. 
Orphanage,  195. 

Osgood,  W.  H.,  214,  217,  222,  230. 
Otter:  land,  212;  sea,  212. 

PACIFIC  STEAMSHIP  Co.,  242. 

Peat,  88. 

Pedro,  99. 

Peters,  explorations  by,  99. 

Peterson  Creek,  72. 

Petrof,  I.,  187. 


Petroleum,  57,  111,  115. 

Pogromni,  168,  169. 

Point  Barrow,  196,  201,  259. 

Population,  174. 

Porcupine,  76. 

Portages,  25. 

Port  Clarence,  84. 

Presbyterians,  195,  196. 

Pribilof  (Fur-seal)  Islands,  5,   12, 

118-121,  233. 

Prince  William  Sound,  148,  156. 
Prindle,  L.  M.,  98,  107. 
Pushkaref,  259. 

QUICKSILVER,  57. 

RADCLYFFE,  C.  R.  E.,  218,  225. 

Railways,  89;  Alaska  Central,  32, 
205,  252;  Cook  Inlet,  32; 
Copper  River,  24,  32,  150; 
Copper  River  and  North 
western,  32;  Council  City,  33, 
90;  Golofnin  Bay,  33,  90; 
Klondike  Mines,  238;  Seward 
Peninsula,  33,  90;  Tanana 
Mines,  32;  White  Pass,  31, 
237;  Wild  Goose,  90;  Yaku- 
tat  Southern,  31. 

Rainfall,  16-19,  262. 

Rampart,  94;  agriculture  at,  47. 

Randall,  G.  M.,  38,  41,  252. 

Ray,  P.  H.,  38-40. 

Raymond,  C.  W.,  42. 

Redoubt,  206. 

Reindeer,  200-202,  228;  herds, 
201;  loans  of,  201;  native 
owners,  202;  service,  202; 
stations,  201. 

Reservations,  51-53;  fur-seal,  53; 
game,  53. 

Revenue  Marine  Service,  12,  223. 

Richardson,  W.  P.,  33,  38-40. 

Rivers,  Chapter  IV,  Alsek,  24; 
Aniakchak,  225;  Chandlar,  25; 
Chena,  24;  Chilkat,  24;  Chi- 
sana,  24;  Chitina,  24;  Chul- 
itna,  24;  Copper,  24;  Dall,  25; 


INDEX 


279 


Rivers — Continued. 

Delta,  23;  Fortymile,  25; 
Gulkana,  24;  Hootalinqua, 
22;  Kantishna,  24;  Karluk, 
209;  Kennicott,  32;  Kichatna, 
24;  Kirchak,  24;  Kobuk,  25; 
Koyukuk,  25;  Kuskokwim,  7, 
25;  Lewes,  20,  22;  Mackenzie, 
25;  Mary,  85;  Matanuska, 
114;  Nabesna,  23;  Nizina,  32; 
Nushagak,  25;  PeUew,  20; 
Porcupine,  23;  Susitna,  24; 
Tana,  24;  Tanana,  23,  25,  27; 
Tolovana,  24;  Unalaklik,  24; 
Volkmar,  24;  Yentna,  24; 
Yukon,  20-22,  25. 

Roads,  26-31;  appropriations  for, 
26;  Birch  to  Cleary,  29;  Cold- 
foot  to  Valdez,  26;  Coldfoot 
to  Dall  River,  26;  Comos, 
26;  Eagle  to  Fortymile,  30; 
Fairbanks  to  Valdez,  26-28; 
Fairbanks  region,  27-29;  Fair 
banks  to  Cleary,  29;  Gibbon, 
28;  Gibbon  to  Nome,  28;  Sew- 
ard  Peninsula,  30. 

Rodgers,  John,  259. 

Road  Commissioners,  26,  33. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  56. 

Root,  Elihu,  252. 

Rousseau,  L.  H.,  34. 

Rowe,  Bishop,  197. 

Ruskin,  John,  160. 

Russel,  Edgar,  252. 

Russell,  I.  C.,  163. 

Russia  cedes  Alaska,  259. 

Russian-American  Co.,  188,  259. 

Russian  -  American  Convention, 
259. 

Russian-American  treaty,  11,  259. 

Russian-English  Convention,  259. 

ST.  MICHAEL,  38,  250,  259;  cli 
mate,  18. 

Salmon:  canned,  127;  canneries, 
131;  dog,  129;  hatcheries,  132; 
humpback,  129;  industry, 


127-133;  king,  128;  protec 
tion,  126;  red,  129;  salteries, 
131;  silver,  129;  species,  128- 
130;  streams,  133;  waste,  130. 

Schools.  190-192;  industrial,  192. 

Schwatka,  F.,  15. 

Scidmore,  Miss  R.,  145,  146,  151, 
153,  155. 

Sea-otter,  112. 

Seal  Islands.     See  Pribilof. 

Seeman,  B.,  226,  228. 

Seldovia,  205. 

Semidi  Propagating  Co.,  233. 

Seward,  204. 

Seward  Peninsula,  5,  78-92. 

Sheep  Creek,  71. 

Silver  Bow,  75. 

Silver  mines,  55,  63,  84. 

Simpson,  259. 

Sinuk,  201. 

Sitka,  34,  36,  45,  72-75,  195,  259. 

Sitkan  Archipelago,  151. 

Skagway,  76,  147,  148. 

Smith,  92. 

Smithsonian  Institution,  220,  226. 

Spaulding,  O.  L.,  41. 

Spencer,  A.  C.,  70,  77,  97. 

St.  George  Island,  118. 

St.  James,  94. 

St.  Paul  Island,  118. 

St.  Peter,  94. 

Steamship  lines,  242. 

Stone,  A.  J.,  117,  206,  222. 

Sumdum  Bay,  153. 

Swedish  Lutherans,  195. 

Swineford,  A.  P.,  181,  184. 

TAFT,  W.  H.,  186. 

Tanana,  47,  94. 

Telegraphs,  251-253;  cable,  251; 

cost,    253;    land-lines,    251; 

revenue,  253;  wireless,  251- 

253. 

Telephones,  91. 
Teller,  195. 

Temperatures,  15-19,  262. 
Tin,  57,  84,  92. 


280 


INDEX 


Tlinkits,  182,  259. 

Tourist  trips,  142-150;  Inside 
Passage,  142-148;  Prince  Wil 
liam  Sound,  148-150;  Yukon 
route,  150. 

Trade:  Alaska  v.  China,  247; 
Alaska  v.  Hawaii,  247,  248; 
Alaska  v.  Japan,  247,  248; 
Alaska  v.  Philippines,  247, 
248;  amounts,  47;  character, 
48;  Fairbanks,  249;  Nome, 
249. 

Trading  companies,  249. 

Transportation,  242-246. 

Travel  routes:  Bristol  Bay,  244; 
Cordova,  243;  Fairbanks, 
244;  Juneau,  243;  Ketchikan, 
243;  Nome,  244;  Orca,  244; 
Seward,  243;  Seldovia,  244; 
Southeast  Alaska,  243;  South 
west  Alaska,  244;  Valclez, 
244. 

Treadwell  mines,  68-70. 

Treaty  of  cession,  11,  193. 

Trout,  139. 

Tsimpseans,  181,  198. 

Tundra,  9. 

Tungsten,  57. 

Turnagain  Arm,  32,  204. 

Turner,  L.,  3. 

UNALASKA,  5, 195, 231;  climate,  16, 

232. 

Unalaklik,  195,  201. 
Unimak,  5. 
Updegraff,  202. 


VALDEZ,    108-110,   244;    climate, 

17,  231,  232. 
Veniaminof,  Bishop,  74,  188,  192, 

259. 
Volcanoes,  8,  165-169,  232;  Bogos- 

lof,  166,  169-173;  Grewingk, 

169-172;      Makushin,      233; 

Pavlof,    167;    Redoubt,    167; 

Shishaldin,     168;     Wrangell, 

167. 

WALES,  201. 

Walrus,  211. 

Washburn,  M.  L.,  234-235. 

Wellcome,  H.  S.,  187,  198. 

Whitefish,  141. 

White  Horse,  22,  31. 

White  population,  174. 

Wildman,  L.,  252. 

Witten,  235. 

Wood  Island,  195. 

Wrangell,  F.  P.,  259. 

Wrangell  mining  district,  Chap 
ter  VIII. 

Wrangell  town,  194. 

Wrangell  Mountain,  163,  167; 
ascent  of,  165. 

Wrangell  Narrows,  146. 

Wright,  C.  W.  &  F.  E.,  65. 

YAKTAG,  76. 

Yakutat,  195;  Bay,  149. 

York  tin  region,  84,  92. 

Yukon,  20-22,  150;  delta,  21,  151, 
185;  men  of,  186;  navigation, 
21-23;  watershed,  6, 225, 230. 


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